


Life of a Teenaged Android

by MayRaven1798



Series: Alternative Lal [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst, Family Dynamics, First Love, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Multi, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:01:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26597977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayRaven1798/pseuds/MayRaven1798
Summary: What if Lal had survived and all the scenes with Wesley’s friends hadn’t been cut from the show? Yeah, he had friends imagine that. I wanted to add the element of Data and Geordi as an implied couple because it’s sweet. A little evolving story about young romance and the consequences of choosing an unconventional partner. Sorry not sorry. I needed some fluff and sweetness. Of course I can’t help making the rating at least mature...oops.
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge, Wesley Crusher & Lal, Wesley Crusher/Lal
Series: Alternative Lal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982974
Comments: 24
Kudos: 28





	1. The Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer all belongs to Star Trek TNG creators. Even the names of most of the other teens.

Lal sat perfectly still. So still that it she could have been mistaken for a statue. With her chin held high she had perfect posture. Her calm exterior hiding the flurry of input processes happening in her fascinated positronic mind.

While everyone around her danced and laughed she remained composed and stoic. People were loudly talking over one another so that it was virtually impossible to make out what anyone was saying. However, with her advanced hearing Lal could understand, or rather not understand, every single word. Her life experience was so limited that all this talk of love and romance was beyond her. Well almost. It was meant to be noisy and chaotic, she surmised, it was a wedding celebration after all. 

She had spent hours helping Guinan dress up Ten Froward with streamers and flowers. It had been like painting the room with a three demential pallet. In her mind she knew the decorations would please the lucky couple and all their guests, but she could never enjoy her own efforts. Lal could never feel happiness, or any other emotion. That was what she had been told. That was what was believed.

It was then that she realized that she couldn’t understand why these normally rational, intelligent people were behaving so out of character. She envied how these silly people were dancing and making fools of themselves. The corners of the her mouth curled upwards ever so slightly as she considered the thought again...She envied them. Lal knew that if she could feel envious then maybe she could also feel happy...and this thought made her smile.

Wesley slid over and sat down on a bar stool. It could have been his enthusiasm, or the glass of Vulcan wine he had managed to sneak earlier, but he nearly missed his mark. He bashfully straightened himself in his seat as he looked over and noticed the unusual expression on Lal’s face. He could only hope that she hadn’t seen his awkward arrival. 

That was all he needed; to embarrass himself in front of her. She may have been his mentor’s daughter and an android, but he liked her. He felt his stomach drop as he watched her observe the festivities. He could see the way she was watching everyone at the party; everyone but him.

“Hey Lal,” called Wesley as he leaned closer on the bar. Her eyes flitted over to him for the briefest of moments and then returned to the party again. Wesley scowled a little. He supposed he should look on the bright side of things. At least she probably hadn’t seen him almost fall on his face.

The teen was about to ask if she could take a break and join him, but he never got the chance. Will Riker sauntered up beside him as though Wesley was invisible and beat him to the punch.

“Hi Lal,” Will said with a twinkle to his eye. “Why don’t you try experiencing the party on the other side of the bar for a while?” Then he gave her a wink. She gave him the smallest of smiles in return before looking to Guinan for permission. With a nod they were off.

Wesley was sure that Lal was incapable of preference when it came to being asked to come and join the rest of them, but he had wanted to be the one to ask. Now he felt cheated. He watched with hurt pride as the naive young woman followed the dashing first officer onto the dance floor. Then he averted his gaze, feeling like a creep, and discovered an unattended open bottle on the bar. He decided to help himself.

As they spun around the dance floor Lal was became entranced by the billowing of her skirt. Every time she twirled it lifted and floated along with her. Of course she understood the physics of why and how the fabric did what it did, but she still found herself wanting it to continue. Will smirked with amusement as the girl spun herself away from him. Then he and several other onlookers broke into laughter as she knocked right into Worf. 

Lal looked up at the Klingon, but instead of apologizing she simply offered her hand and asked him to join her. “Spinning around is a very intriguing experience, Mr. Worf. Would you care to spin with me?”

Worf did his best not to sneer down at her and politely declined her offer. “No thank you. Klingons do not spin.” Lal accepted his reply without hesitation and moved to a more open space. 

Later, Wesley sat down next to his mother and sighed. Beverly made a face at her son and his bad mood. “Not enjoying the party? You know there are other things in life besides projects and homework,” she told him rather harshly.

“Are there?” he snarked back rudely. “At least I’m good at those. Not one girl wanted to dance with me,” he whined.

Beverly pursed her lips and gestured to the dark haired young woman who was now chatting with Deanna. “You mean to tell me that Lal didn’t want to dance?”

Wesley rolled his eyes at his mother. “I didn’t get the chance to ask her. Besides, if she said no I don’t think I could deal,” he confessed as he eyed a nearby glass of dark liquor that someone else had abandoned.

“This is ridiculous,” she huffed as she stood up. “I’ll just ask her for you.”

Wesley caught her arm and gave her a venomous look. “Mom, don’t embarrass me!” he said with indignation. “Geez, what am I, five?”

“Then suck it up and be a man,” she countered coldly as she retook her seat. Beverly hated it when she tried to help her son and he took it as overstepping. “Even Geordi took a chance and asked Data to dance while they were here earlier.”

Wesley didn’t follow her reasoning. They were two experienced adults and had been close friends for ages. Besides, the chances were good that Data would say yes. He had never once witnessed the android turn Geordi down for anything. It was a shame that they both had to fill in for skeleton crew, or he would have asked one of them to speak to Lal. Anyone would have been better than his mother at this point.

“I think I’ll just go back to my quarters. It’s not like I know Lieutenant Brice, or Ensign Cortez all that well,” he said in defeat. He was also feeling slightly drowsy from the alcohol, but wasn’t about to tell his mother.

The red haired woman soften a little and patted his shoulder. “Fine. But try to do something relaxing like reading. You work too hard,” she told him.

The teen smiled weakly and left the table. As he passed by a group of senior officers he gave them a curt wave goodbye. Lal looked over just in time to see Wesley leave the lounge. For some unknown reason she decided to follow him. She stopped briefly to thank Will Riker for being her dance partner, although he wasn’t entirely sure that they had danced much.

Lal caught up to Wesley as he waited for the turbolift. He was leaning a little against the wall for support. 

“Hello, Wesley,” she greeted him evenly. He hadn’t noticed her approach and he startled when he heard her voice.

“Hey, Lal,” he replied as he tried to remain neutral. “Weren’t you having fun?”

The girl furrowed her brows and tilted her head. “I found the stimuli and the interactions quite informative,” she said flatly. 

“Oh right,” he commented, realizing too late how dumb he must have sounded asking an unemotional person if she had a good time. For Lal there was no good or bad.

“Although, I did find that once I was in the midst of all those people and their potent excited energies that I could almost understand what it is to have ‘fun’,” she added after a moment of consideration.

The lift arrived and the doors opened, but Wesley was too fascinated by her statement to notice. Lal’s dark eyes met his own and she gave him a curious look. For what seemed like forever they just stared at one another. Until recently, Wesley had never thought of the android girl as anything more than a friend. She could even be considered as family; more like a sister or a cousin. But ever since she was almost lost to them he began to feel something more.

Of course Lal didn’t have emotions now. It was the threat of overwhelming emotions that almost destroyed her. He knew that she would never have any emotional attachment to him even if he had one for her. So he found it confusing when she began to move closer to him. It made him wonder if she had somehow changed in the way that she saw him too. 

Lal brushed past her friend and entered the turbolift. She noted the quickening of Wesley’s heart rate and the flush to his cheeks when her arm made contact with his arm. She had observed his secret drinking and knew he was slightly inebriated. So she concluded that these physical changes must be a side effect of the alcohol he had consumed.

She stood patiently in the center of the otherwise empty lift and waited for him to get in as well. Wesley stumbled a little when he finally moved to stand next to her. As he cursed under his breath she looked up into his face. She observed how his pupils dilated and decided it must have something to do with the dimmer lighting.

They were both headed to the same deck. Even though Wesley no longer lived in the same quarters as his mother she had insisted in having him close to Will Riker and Data when she was stationed at Starfleet Medical. Now that Beverly was back she still wanted him close by, so he occupied the same small quarters on the same deck as the senior officers. 

“Are you headed to your father’s quarters, or going down to cybernetics?” Wesley asked as he continued to keep his focus dead ahead. It was easier for him to keep his balance in the moving lift if he didn’t turn his head.

Lal watched him lean on the wall again and shook her head. “I observed you partake in several servings of alcohol this evening, Wesley,” she informed him as she looped her arm through his to steady him. “I believe that you may require my assistance to reach your destination.” 

She noted how the physical contact had the same effect as it had before. She could feel his body temperature rise through his shirt sleeve. Wesley dared to look at her then. Her voice was friendly and he knew that she wasn’t reprimanding him. There was no possible way that she making fun of him; it just wasn’t in her programming. So he smiled warmly at her kind gesture and let her help him.

When the lift opened again they made their way down the corridor to the acting ensign’s quarters. As they went inside he leaned a little heavier than intended on her shoulder for a moment, but she easily handled the extra weight. 

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly as he plopped down onto the single bed.

“There is no need to apologize. I volunteered to assist you,” she replied quickly.

“Well, I made it home, safe and sound. I guess you can go now,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.

Lal picked up on the subtle change in his tone and hesitated. “Did you not have fun at the celebration, Wesley?”

“Not really,” he told her truthfully as he removed his boots. His head was starting to swim and he barely managed to free his second foot before he needed to recline on the bed.

Lal bent over him and noted his sudden fatigue. “You should have danced. Physical activity releases endorphins and would have been beneficial to you.”

Wesley chuckled while covering his eyes with one hand. “Did you like dancing? You looked like you did.” He knew she would only give him some bland explanation of how she couldn’t like or dislike something, but he asked her anyways.

“You were watching me,” she said quietly. If he didn’t know better he would have thought that she sounded self conscious.

The strange quality in her voice made Wesley uncover his eyes. He felt the need to try and pay more attention to her and he propped himself up on his elbows. “Yeah, sure. You know, I was hoping to ask you to dance, but I didn’t.”

“Why?” was her only response.

“Why didn’t I ask you?” Wesley inquired as he continued to watch her contemplate whatever it was that was going on in her head. She nodded slowly and sat on the bed beside him. “I don’t know. I guess you looked so happy with Riker that I didn’t think I could compete.”

As soon as the words left his mouth he knew that they were only his impressions of the situation. He also noticed how jealous he sounded and instantly wished he had kept his mouth shut. 

Lal sat in silence for what seemed an eternity before a soft “oh” escaped her lips. Then she stood and took a few steps away from him. Wesley was certain that she was leaving, but then she stopped and lifted the corners of her mouth.

“Computer, please dim the lights by twenty percent and play a slow romantic ballad at an acceptable volume,” she requested. 

The computer chirped and the light lowered as music began to play. Lal extended a hand and waited for Wesley to reciprocate. He looked up at her from where he lay and wondered how she thought he was going to dance after she had basically carried him the last few feet to his bed. He decided to do as his mother suggested and be a man about it.

Slowly, Wesley pushed himself up and off the mattress. Then he closed the short distance between them and gently took her offered hand in his. It never ceased to amaze him how real and soft her skin felt. He placed her other hand on his shoulder before tentatively holding her at the waist. He made sure to kept a good few inches between them. Even though they were alone he could sense Data’s watchful eye on his daughter and knew he would be in trouble if he didn’t behave himself.

Together they swayed to the music and rhythmically began to turn about the small room. Wesley was pleasantly surprised that his partner never once stepped on his toes. When they got to the bridge of the song Lal put both arms around his neck and pulled him a little closer. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder. Wesley mirrored her by relaxing his posture and moving both of his hand to sit at her lower back. 

“I saw many couples dancing this way. I know it is less technically proficient, however it looked as though they were enjoying themselves,” she explained softly.

“And what do you think of it?” he found himself asking as they continued to sway, but were now barely dancing at all. 

Lal’s gaze met his. Their faces were so close to one another that he could feel her warm breath on his cheek. He couldn’t help but smile when he caught her watching his mouth.

She smiled in return and he could have sworn she was blushing. “I think I like it,” she whispered as though it was some terrible secret.

Wesley’s smile widened. “You like it?” he teased, not entirely convinced that she realized what that would imply. “How do you know?”

“Because I find myself wanting to be here,” she replied. “I want to be here in your room...alone with you...in your arms.”

Then Lal pressed her front to his and rested her head back onto his shoulder. The song ended and now they were standing there, holding each other; no longer swaying. Wesley moved his hands up her back and held her more firmly. He wasn’t sure that there was anything sexual about what they were doing. They were only hugging. What harm could a hug have? In fact he firmly believed that Lal should be hugged more. Physical affection was a big part of being human and he was pretty sure that Data was not a big hugger.

When they finally moved apart Wesley felt his head start to spin and knew he had to lie down again. “Sorry Lal, but I think I have to call it a night,” he said with a slight slur to his words.

She nodded and helped him back to the bed. He didn’t bother changing. He just got under the covers and practically passed out the moment his head hit the pillow. Lal leaned over and fixed his blanket. Then she lightly smoothed the hair from his forehead.

“Thank you for the dance,” she whispered in his ear. She could hear him murmur something, but it wasn’t quite words. “Computer please turn the lights to their nighttime setting,” she commanded quietly into the air.

The lights faded and a blue ambient glow filled the room. Lal knew she was meant to return to the cybernetics lab to shut down for the night, however she didn’t want to go. Somehow she rationalized that if she were to ever understand what it was to be human that she would never get there if she was limited to being put away every night like an appliance. So she removed her shoes and climbed into the small bed next to her friend. 

Lal lay on her back and watched Wesley begin to breathe deeper signally that he was asleep. As she began to have second thoughts about staying without any invitation or permission, the young man rolled over and trapped her under his arm and half of his upper torso.

As a compromise and to put her ethical programming at ease she gave him a gentle nudge. “May I stay the night?” she asked in an almost inaudible whisper.

Of course Wesley didn’t hear her, but she took the soft pleasant noise he made as an affirmation to her request.

As she closed her eyes to conserve energy and recall her day she also wondered how it was that her father had remained unattached for so much of his existence. He was always telling her how he was incapable of human emotion, but did have the capacity for desire. She surmised that if one could desire to better themselves and achieve their goals, they should also be able to desire intimate companionship. 

When Lal watched her father with Geordi she knew that he must have desired a mate as much as having a child. As she opened her eyes in the low light and looked over at Wesley again—his face so close to hers—she knew that she already wanted one. She desired a mate. 

This realization stirred something else in her. Something close to what she experienced when she twirled her skirt. Something she noticed when they were dancing a few moments ago when they held one another. It was familiar and good; like Wesley was familiar and good. Whatever it was it made her smile and she concluded that maybe this was happiness.

......


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awkwardness that follows Lal decision to sleep over.

In the early hours of the morning Wesley had a vivid dream of dancing and holding someone close. She smelled like lavender and honey and she made him feel confident and attractive. She was lovely and warm and felt so real in the dream that he swore could still feel the girl’s body pressed to his as he began wake. 

The automatic alarm chirped away as usual, only on this particular morning the sound was like burning pins piecing through Wesley’s half sleeping brain. He groaned loudly, but strangely the alarm stopped on its own before he could move to shut it off. It wasn’t meant to stop on its own. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and two very dark eyes greeted him. 

“Good morning, Wesley,” Lal said sweetly.

The teen sat up like a shot and instantly regretted it. His head was pounding and the sudden movement only made it worse. He closed his eyes tight and put a hand on either side of his head and groaned again. When the pain subsided he opened his eyes one by one and looked over at a very concerned looking android.

“Lal, what are you doing my bed?” He did his best to keep the panic out of his voice, but didn’t recall the girl going to bed with him the night before. Although, if he was being honest, he didn’t remember much after she had helped him to his quarters.

“Your bed looked so inviting and you were already asleep,” she began to explain. Then she looked away and seemed to close in on herself, an almost guilty look playing on her features. “I am sorry, Wesley. You are angry with me.”

“No,” he said quickly and put his arm around her without thinking. “I’m not mad. I’m just confused.” Then he remembered his dream and pulled away from her. “I didn’t do anything weird while I was asleep did I?”

The girl looked up at him and shook her head in the negative. “I do not believe that you did. However, observing someone in a sleep state is a new experience for me,” she told him.

“Were you awake all night?” he asked as he rubbed his temples.

She shook her head again as she watched him try to ease his headache. “Though I was technically not sleeping I was in a restful state. I was only peripherally aware of you and when you may have moved,” she explained. “Does your head hurt? Perhaps you are dehydrated?”

Before he could respond she got up and went over to the replicator. She quickly returned with a large glass of room temperature water and handed it to him. Wesley frowned a little but accepted it anyways. He drank about half of it when he realized that he was dying to pee. So he excused himself and went off into the bathroom.

By the time he came back into the main room Lal had made the bed and put out a uniform for him to wear. He gave her an auspicious look as he rejoined her. “Thanks, Lal, but I think I can get myself ready for the day,” he said as kindly as possible.

“It is important to be supportive and give you the best possible start to your day,” she said warmly as she handed a small glass; it was orange juice this time.

Wesley looked down at the glass and then narrowed his eyes at her. “We just fell asleep, right?” he asked slowly as he tried to process her odd behaviour. “I mean, I fell asleep and you lay beside me. We didn’t do anything else like kiss, or make out, right?”

“We did not kiss, although we did embrace after we danced,” she told him as she gave him a curious look. “Do you not remember?”

“Vaguely,” he confided as put down the glass of untouched juice. “I’m sorry, but my memory is a little foggy. I guess I know better now than to drink so much.”

“Oh,” she said quietly as her gaze fell to her feet. 

“So we hugged? That sounds...nice,” he said with more enthusiasm. He didn’t know why but he was getting the impression that he had hurt her feelings. Something that shouldn’t be possible.

“It is alright, Wesley,” she told him as she continued to look away. “You do not need to pretend for me. You did not give your permission for me to stay and I can tell that I am not welcome.”

“No, Lal,” he said softly as he placed a hand on each of her shoulders and tried to get her to look at him again. “You are always welcome. I’m just not my best this morning and to be frank I’m a little embarrassed.”

The girl met his gaze, but still looked unsure of herself. “Embarrassed?” she repeated.

“Sure, I’m supposed to help you learn and grow and last night I was kind of drunk and needed your help to get home,” he elaborated. “Then I passed out and you stayed with me out of the goodness of your heart and I probably used you like a body pillow, which is so embarrassing because I have no control over what I do when I’m sleeping.”

“You did press yourself against me, but we were both fully clothed,” she said. “And do not worry, I have read that it is normal for adolescents, especially males, to have sexual dreams and subsequent physical reactions during such dreams.”

Wesley’s face became a display of horror as she spoke. “What!?” 

“Oh no!” she added quickly realizing her mistake. “I did not mean you specifically, Wesley. You did not do anything inappropriate. You may have secreted saliva on my shoulder at one time, but by no means did you rub your genitalia against me, or molest my body in any fashion.”

Hearing her say words like ‘molest’ and ‘genitalia’ only seemed to cause him further distress. So she continued to try and put him at ease. “I have to admit that I would not have been offended. It would have been fascinating to observe such a natural, organic function so intimately.”

Wesley moved away from her and covered his face with his hands. Lal decided it would be best if she stopped talking. Clearly she was only making matters worse.

“Does Data even know that you’re here?” he muttered into his hands. He could only imagine how much trouble they would both be in when Data discovered his daughter was not only missing, but had spent the night in his bed.

Lal shook her head before she realized that he wasn’t looking at her. “No, Wesley. Father does not know,” she confessed.

He dropped his hands and fixed her with a very serious look. “Well, when you tell him please do me a favour and leave out the bit about adolescent boys and their sleep tendencies,” he advised. “In fact, tell him you sat on the couch reading, or something.”

Lal nodded slowly as she came to understand his concerns. “I suppose this means that you do not wish me to be your girlfriend,” she said almost offhandedly as she picked up the glass of orange juice from the bedside table and placed it on the small dining table.

Wesley stared at her for a long moment. Something finally clicked in his befuddled, hung-over brain. This was why she was behaving like his caregiver. She wasn’t babying him because he was a mess, she was trying do what she thought a girlfriend would do.

“Lal, do you want to be my girlfriend?” he asked as he watched her straighten the pile of books off to one side of the table. He wasn’t sure why she would, or who gave her such an idea. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the sound of it—he should be so lucky—but he wasn’t convinced that she was old enough, or ready for such an important change in their dynamic.

“It appeared as though you enjoyed my company. You said you had been watching me at the celebration and when we danced together it was very...intimate,” she rambled as she sat in one of the chairs.

“Look, please don’t misunderstand me...I think you’re wonderful, Lal. I really do. I just don’t know if you’re ready to be in a romantic relationship,” he told with honesty. “I’ve never even been in a romantic relationship.” He wasn’t counting Salia. A couple days, no matter how amazing, didn’t make a fully fledged relationship to his mind.

“Oh,” she said simply as she seemed to take in this new information. “But we slept together.”

Wesley did his best not to laugh at her innocent misuse of the term. “Yeah, people use that term to politely say that they’ve had sex together,” he informed her. “There’s usually very little actual sleep involved.”

“Oh,” she said again and tilted her head. 

“So we’ll just keep being friends? Is that okay?” he added after a moment. 

“Yes, that would be more than alright,” she replied as she finally looked more at ease. “Perhaps one day we can be more.”

“Maybe, but it’s better not to force something like that,” he told her sincerely.

Lal wondered if that was how he truly felt about it; that he would have to force himself to be her boyfriend. She frowned at the thought. Then she looked down at her clothes and wondered if it was her appearance that he found so unappealing, or if it was something more fundamental like the unavoidable fact that she was an android that bothered him.

When she looked up again to ask him she realized that he had taken his uniform into the bathroom to get dressed for the day. Her questions would have to wait. She decided to give him some space and slipped out the door while he was otherwise engaged.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos they’re very encouraging. This one was short, but there is more to come :)


	3. Parental Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal has a little chat with Deanna after facing her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one. Enjoy:)

Data was waiting for her when she arrived with her metaphorical tail between her legs. Lal couldn’t look her father in the eye as she stepped up onto the central unit in the cybernetics lab.

“Lal, where were you last night?” he asked softly as he studied her guilty posturing.

Of course she was fully aware that he would know by now where she had been. She could only assume that he was giving her the opportunity to be truthful with him.

“I was with Wesley Crusher, Father. He was not feeling well after the reception,” she replied. It was more or less the truth.

“If your friend was so unwell perhaps you should have notified his mother, or taken him to Sickbay. It is still crucial at this stage of your development for you to return to your station in order to initiate your backups and shut down properly overnight.”

“Am I in trouble?” she asked as she looked up at him with sad eyes. 

Data did not have the same subtle inflection of emotion that his daughter seemed to have. Even after he had managed to save Lal from a near complete collapse and reset her she still showed signs of emotional capability. He tried not to obsess over it and reasoned that it was simply part of who she was. 

Her endearing facial expression and melancholic voice should not effect him. Only they did. He reasoned it must have something to with how he always sought to aid those weaker than him. Children especially moved him to compassion. Now more than ever Data saw this girl as his daughter, as his child.

“No, Lal. I know you were only looking out for Wesley. However, in the future it would be best to pass that responsibility onto an adult,” he told her kindly.

Lal continued to feel guilty. She hadn’t been completely honest. She had stayed because she wanted to. She had stayed so she could know what it felt to be more than the little girl her father painted her as. The joke was on her. In the end Wesley saw her the same way as Data; as a child.

“Yes, I understand,” she said obediently.

After a quick scan of her systems Data set her up to perform the routine back ups of her memory banks and new subroutines. He took her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze as though to tell her how much he loved her. A fact that Lal understood even if he didn’t.

......

Deanna welcomed Lal into her office and offered her a seat. For some reason the girl appeared to anxious.

“Deanna, I have a few questions about myself that perhaps you could help me answer,” Lal said as she sat rigidly on the sofa.

“Oh? What sort of questions?” Deanna replied. She was fairly certain that Data would be most appropriate person to help her with any inquires about being an android, but was intrigued that she could be looking for philosophical, or psychiatric opinions.

“I know that my outward appearance is aesthetically pleasing, however I am not sure that it conveys my social standing,” she explained.

Deanna smiled a little. This was definitely not a philosophic conundrum. “Are you feeling self-conscious about your looks?” 

“Not as such. I have no concerns about my appearance, myself. I am uncertain that others may find it...desirable. I believe I may be misinterpreted as childlike.”

“I know that you’re eager to be treated like everyone else, but you are still very young. As for your outward apprearance, I’ve always felt that it’s best for an individual to dress and groom themselves in a fashion that they find most appealing for themselves. Confidence comes from within,” Deanna told her. “If someone else doesn’t like it then that’s their problem.”

Lal remained silent for a moment as she considered this. Then she tilted her head and folded her hands in lap. “What about if a person wishes to attract another person? What if that other person is not finding the first to be their ideal?”

Deanna’s smile broadened. She wasn’t expecting to be talking birds and bees with girl so soon. Even if it was just the preliminary question of how to attract someone.

“Can I ask who this person might be...the one you fancy?” she asked coyly.

The girl looked down at her hands and the Counselor was sure that she blushed. “It is Wesley Crusher,” Lal said quietly.

“Oh, Lal,” Deanna said with amusement, “believe me when I tell you that Wesley likes you. You don’t need to change your appearance to get his attention.”

The android met her gaze with a look of mild surprise. “Are you certain? It is not that I doubt you, but when we discussed the option of my becoming his girlfriend he declined.”

“Declined?” Deanna parroted. She couldn’t believe that Wesley, a boy who had had very little luck with girls his own age, would have turned her down.

“Yes. He said that he thought I was wonderful, but did not believe that I was ready for romance,” she explained. “I believe that he may see me as a child rather than a young woman. Perhaps if my physical appearance is adequate you can advise me on how to behave more maturely, more romantic.”

Now that was a tall order. Teaching Lal to be romantic would be like when Data went about trying to teach himself about humour. It was not funny. 

“I can help you out by explaining what romance is and all of that, but I think if you try it before you’re ready—before you have the life experience to draw upon—it might come across as false, or forced.“

Lal frowned. That was the same term Wesley had used, ‘forced’. “I do want to force anything, but I do not want to be overlooked for my shortcomings either.”

“Maturity can’t be learned over night. I think you’re experiencing what many girls do. Like you said, you don’t feel like a child but you lack the experience to be an adult. These are known as adolescent growing pains. Although frustrating at times they are perfectly normal.”

Lal liked the idea that she was normal, but still didn’t know what to do about her dilemma. “What else can I do? How do I get life experience if no one will be romantic with me?” she asked at a loss.

“You know what, Lal? I tell my patients, and my friends, to look for similar interests as the person they like. Maybe Wesley needs to see you as more than Data’s daughter. Maybe if you find something in common beyond your development exercises to share with him he might see you as more than an android.”

That was her other concern. That she was too different from him and not human enough. Maybe if she tried a new approach she could be more than just a playmate.

“Thank you, Deanna. You have given me much to think about.”

......


	4. Mean Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal attends a class and gets more than she bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet those friends of Wesley’s at last. :)

Lal decided to take Deanna’s advice. The best way to improve her friendship with Wesley was to spend more time with him in his world. So she signed up for one of his classes. Believing firmly in punctuality she arrived before anyone else, even the teacher. She took a seat in the front row of desks and waited patiently.

A couple of teenaged girls entered the room and gave her a strange look as they passed by. Unlike her, they went to the back of the classroom. They were both attractive, by human standards. Lal could tell that they wearing makeup and she admired how they had done their hair up in elaborate twists and braids. Each one in wore a colourful, form fitting outfit. 

Lal was starting to think that maybe she should have done more research in order to fit in better. She touched her bobbed black hair and looked down at her loose dress. She was very plain by comparison and could hear the girls snicker and laugh behind her.

“Isn’t that the robot kid? Isn’t she like barely old enough for kindergarten?” remarked the brunette.

“Maybe she scared the smaller kids,” offered the blond. “Did you see her eyes? They’re kinda dead...like doll eyes. She’s so creepy.”

Lal knew they were whispering and probably believed that she couldn’t hear their cruel words. Unfortunately, with her advanced hearing, she couldn’t help but hear them. She bowed her head and stared at the top of her desk. The class hadn’t even started yet and she was ready to give up. She was just about to stand to leave when Wesley entered the classroom and smiled at her.

“Oh hey, Lal,” he said warmly. “I didn’t know you were taking psychology.”

She was momentarily stunned into silence. It was such a comfort to see his kind face. “I thought I would sample what it is to be in a classroom environment,” she replied quietly.

“Good for you. I was telling Data just the other day that you needed to socialize with other kids closer to your maturity level,” Wesley said before turning to his friend who had arrived with him. “This is Eric.“

“Nice to meet you, Eric,” Lal said to the other boy. She had heard his named mentioned in conversation before, but never knew what he looked like. He appeared to be the same age as Wesley and she was intrigued by the freckles that adorned his face and the deep red hues of his wavy hair. 

“Likewise,” said Eric. Then he made a face at the snickering girls. “Don’t mind those two. Annette and Shelley are mostly harmless.”

“Why don’t you join us? We usually sit further back,” added Wesley.

Lal glanced behind her and shook her head. 

“Come on, only ‘teacher’s pets’ sit up front,” teased Eric as he gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. Shelley made a rude face at Eric’s kind gesture. “Don’t be jealous, Shell,” he called to the brunette, “she just needs some encouragement.”

“She’s the Second Officer’s daughter, I think she has enough privilege,” snarked Shelley. “Besides, I don’t think she liked you touching her like that.”

“Eric and Shelley are dating,” Wesley informed Lal as they watched the two argue for a moment.

“What about Annette? Are you hoping to date her? She is very attractive,” she said quietly.

Wesley seemed to blush a little before shaking his head. “Annie? I don’t know. We’re friends and we hang out a lot, but I don’t think she likes me that way. Come on, Lal. Come sit with us.”

The android girl considered her options one more time. She was intimidated by the ‘real’ girls, but at the same time she came here to be with Wesley. So she picked up her PADD and followed him to the group of seats now mostly occupied by his friends.

Several other students entered and took their seats. The last one, a taller boy with shaggy dirty-blond hair came to stand next to Lal’s desk. 

“Hey, I think you’re in my seat,” he said as he towered over her. His tone wasn’t exactly rude, but it wasn’t exactly nice either.

“Take the empty seat, Scooter,” Wesley told the boy as he gestured to a vacant chair on Lal’s other side.

“But then I’ll be by myself,” Scooter whined.

Lal stood and politely moved over. Before Scooter could sit in his regular seat, Wesley told him to take his seat so that Lal wouldn’t be on the end next to someone she didn’t know. She smiled at his kindness. She hadn’t been prepared to deal with the social hierarchy and seating arrangements.

“Sorry about that. Paul always needs help with this class. He’s more comfortable if he can look at everyone else’s notes,” Wesley explained.

“Paul?” Lal repeated suddenly confused again.

“Oh, sorry. Paul is ‘Scooter’; it’s his nickname. I really can’t remember why,” he said with a chuckle.

“I see,” Lal said quietly. Only she didn’t really. She didn’t understand why some people needed two very different names, or how Eric could be attracted to a mean spirited girl like Shelley. Or why it was so much better to sit at the back of the room than the front and in very specific seats at that. She decided that she would need to study psychology to figure all them out. So at least she was in the right class.

Wesley had to admit that he was nervous when he found Lal sitting his psychology class. Not just that his friends would be weird about it, but that she would ask too many questions and embarrass him. So he was a little concerned when Lal stayed quiet through the whole period and didn’t lift her hand up once.

As the teacher dismissed them he leaned over and got the girl’s attention. “So, Lal, what do you think?”

“About what, Wesley?” she asked in return.

“The class, the experience,” he replied.

Lal looked thoughtful for a moment before answering him. “Currently, I am processing all the knew knowledge I have gained from Professor Morgenstein. I am also cross referencing any questionable information with that which I have previously obtained from my own reading. I am also analyzing the behaviour and body language of the students. I have concluded that while the class was well structured and quite informative many of the students seemed disinterested in the subject matter. Many of them yawned several times and your friend Scooter fell asleep at one point for a total of three minutes and fourth-five seconds.” 

Wesley stared at her for a moment. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised by her thorough answer, but he was just a little. “So do you think you might come back for another session?”

Before Lal could form an answer Annette walked by her desk and ‘accidentally’ knocked her PADD to the floor.

“Oops,” she said rudely.

As Lal bent down to pick it up Shelley knocked her knee into the android’s head and stumbled. “Watch it, new girl! I almost tripped over you!” she cried dramatically.

“My apologies,” said Lal as she straightened and put a hand to her head. She of course hadn’t suffered any physical injury, but needed to smooth her hair back into place.

“Geez, Lal are you alright?” Wesley asked, his voice full of worry.

“I am fine,” she told him as she watched the two girls glare at her. “I know that I am new to human behaviour, however I do not believe those girls care for me very much.”

“Yeah, it’s weird,” he noted as he also looked over at them. “They’re normally really nice.”

“I guess Annie’s jealous and you know she and Shelley stick together,” said Eric as he came to stand beside their desks. 

“Jealous? Of what? Of Lal?” inquired Wesley in disbelief. 

“I heard them whispering, Wes. Something about you and Lal sleeping together,” Eric elaborated. Wesley’s face went pale and then bright red. Shelley’s mother was an engineer. It stood to reason that she could have overheard Data telling Geordi about Lal staying over the other night. Eric smiled slyly and turned to Lal. “Personally I don’t believe it, but you know how gossipy teenaged girls can be.”

“No, I do not,” she told him with a tilt of her head. “Perhaps if I explain to them that Wesley and I are platonic companions.”

“You’ll have to tell them more than that to get them to mind their own damned business,” commented Scooter as he joined them, leaning on Wesley’s desk. “Like, tell them that you’re like his sister.”

“Stop it,” Wesley interjected. “Annie doesn’t like me like that; I should know. I asked her to that wedding reception the other day and she turned me down.”

“Oh man, didn’t she tell you?” asked Eric. “Her dad caught her and Shelley using his security codes to hack into classified files. She was totally grounded. I’m sure it killed her to turn you down.”

Lal was unsure if she understood what ‘grounded’ meant, but she could tell that although Annette had not literally died from saying ‘no’ it was implied that under normal circumstances the girl would have said ‘yes’. Lal wasn’t sure what to make of this new information.

“Hey, Lal, you could always imply that you were interested in someone else,” added Scooter with a smirk.

“Oh like you, smart ass?” snarked Eric as hit the taller boy in the arm. Scooter rubbed his arm and made a pained face.

“I do not believe in being untruthful,” Lal told them. She also didn’t believe in being so contrary with her friends. She decided that they must put each other down as some form of backwards bonding device.

“Lal’s right,” said Wesley, “they’ll calm down in a day or two.”

“Look, we’re all hanging out tonight in my quarters,” Eric told Wesley. “Just be attentive to Annie and make a move on her. In other words don’t be a spazz and chicken out again.”

Wesley frowned and shook his head. “I have a rotation in engineering this afternoon and then I’ll have to do my homework. I just can’t make it.”

“Well, then maybe Lal can come,” said Scooter as he smiled again. “Maybe you can show them that you’re not a threat.”

“I am no threat, I assure you,” she told him adamantly.

“Lal, you can do what you want, but I don’t think you should hang out with Annie and Shelley without me just yet,” Wesley warned her. “I wouldn’t want them to do anything that you might not realize is mean.”

“I will be careful, Wesley. I can handle a small social gathering,” she said with confidence. After all she had survived so far and they would only start to accept her if she proved she was unwilling to scare off so easily.

“Yeah, well don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he added sternly.

......


	5. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal attends her first teen party after getting help to look the part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No underaged drinking this time, but someone gets a little over-eager. I won’t say more as to not spoil things.

Lal should have listened to Wesley. He knew his friends better than she did. If only she wasn’t so determined to prove that she could be a friend and not a seen as a rival. 

Shelley cocked an eyebrow as the door to her quarters slid open. She was not expecting to see Lal of all people standing there, smiling at her.

“Hello, Shelley. I hope that I am not intruding,” Lal said politely as she waited to be invited in. She decided that Shelley would be easier to win over since she was dating Eric and Eric was Wesley’s closest friend.

Shelley tossed back her long brunette locks and gave her a once over. “That depends on why you’re here,” she said flatly.

The smile fell from Lal’s face as she picked up on the hostility in Shelley’s voice. “I only wanted to ask for your assistance. You and Annette were so attractively dressed today that I thought you might be open to helping me adjust my current aesthetics.”

“Your what?” Shelley asked skeptically. 

“My style,” Lal clarified.

Shelley grinned and raised her eyebrows. “Oh right. You do dress like someone’s mom,” she said as she finally moved aside. “Come on in.”

Lal was a little wary of entering the girl’s quarters without anyone else around, but on the bright side Annette wasn’t there.

“You know, Eric seems to think you’re okay. So maybe you aren’t so bad,” commented Shelley as she led her through to her bedroom. “I presume you’ll be going over to his place later?”

Lal nodded as she looked around the room. Wesley’s quarters were pristine, like any officers, but Shelley’s bedroom was covered with frills and lace. There were photos of family and friends pinned by her large vanity and containers holding makeup and jewelry sitting open on her dressing table.

“That is my intension,” she said as she looked at, but did not touch a pair of earrings.

“They’re pretty right? My dad got those for me when he was on Vulcan. They’re some kind of precious metal,” Shelley explained. “You can try them if you want.”

Lal was unsure at first if the girl really meant it. She hadn’t exactly been kind to her earlier. Shelley caught her reluctance to touch anything and felt the need to clear the air.

“Look, I’m sorry I was so rude before, Lal. Annie was all bothered about how you were stealing Wes’ attention and I kinda behaved badly,” Shelley said as she picked up the earrings. Then she clipped them on Lal’s earlobes one at a time. “You must know what a threat you are to her. I mean, you’re super smart and really pretty and Wes talks about you all the time.”

“He does?” Lal asked as she admired her reflection and the earrings. “Do you think I am threatening? I am not, I am very nice.”

“It’s not that you’re not nice,” the girl told her as she picked up a large rounded brush and twirled into some pink powder. “You’re the daughter of the ship’s second officer and you know Wes in a way that she doesn’t.” Shelley showed Lal the blush brush and then added, “May I?”

The android girl nodded and Shelley proceeded to lightly apply the pigment to her cheeks. Lal smiled at how the colour made her look more human, more alive. “That is a pleasing colour.”

“Wait until you see it with some lipstick,” mused Shelley as she picked out a small cylinder and opened it so that Lal could see the colour.

“This goes on my lips?” she asked innocently as she took the lipstick and examined it.

The brunette giggled a little and picked up another tube. “Here watch me,” she instructed before applying it and pressing her lips together. “Then you dab the extra onto a tissue.”

Lal watched the whole process in awe and then did her best to replicate what she had observed. “Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Gosh you’re cute. You’re like a life-sized doll,” she said with another giggle as she played with Lal’s short hair. Then she seemed to realize that what she said may be misinterpreted. “Um, I meant that in a positive way, not like before when Annie said you had dead doll eyes.”

“I understand,” Lal replied, though she wasn’t entirely sure that she did. 

“I think we should find you something to wear next. Something less...”

“Maternal,” added Lal. 

“Exactly,” Shelley said with excitement.

The gathering in Eric’s quarters was less a small group of friends and more of an actual party. There was music playing and there were several other young people in attendance that Lal didn’t recognize from class.

Annette was first to notice Shelley’s arrival with Lal in tow. She was not happy about how friendly they looked with each other.

“Shelley, what the hell? I hope you made her over as a joke,” she remarked coldly.

“Stop it, Annie. She’s actually really fun,” Shelley rebutted.

Annette took in the android’s new look and frowned. Lal’s dark hair was up in the back exposing her pale, swan-like neck; and her tight dress and colourful makeup made her look much older and far more beautiful than before. 

“Well, I hope you and your new best friend have loads of fun together then,” the blond snarked.

“I am sorry that I caused tension between yourself and your friend,” said Lal after witnessing the exchange. 

“Don’t worry about it, Lal. You’re a sweetie. Don’t let that bitch bring you down. I won’t,” Shelley told her. Then she spotted Eric and pulled Lal with her to be with him.

As Lal was dragged across the room she contemplated how two young women who claimed to be best friends could treat each other so inconsiderately. 

“There’s my girl,” said Eric before giving Shelley a kiss on the lips. After a moment he noticed that they had an audience, but had to double take when he realized that the girl was Lal. “Oh my goodness! Lal? You were really hiding how pretty you are. Too bad Wes isn’t here to see you. I seriously think he would die.”

Lal did not seriously think that Wesley would die. Furthermore, she was beginning to wonder if Deanna had been right. It was an enjoyable experience to let Shelley dress her up and paint her face in private, but people were reacting to her altered appearance in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Although she wasn’t uncomfortable exactly, she didn’t feel like they were genuinely reacting to her. They only saw her exterior and it was starting to feel false.

“Whoa, you look hot,” said Scooter with admiration as he joined them.

“I am running at an acceptable body temperature,” Lal replied reflexively.

“No, Sweetie, Scooter thinks you look sexy,” Shelley explained.

“Oh,” Lal said simply as she thought about whether that was an acceptable thing to be. “Do you think Wesley will be offended that I looked sexy when I knew he would not be around to see me?”

“Let’s hope so,” said Eric. “Serves him right for skipping my invitation.”

After a few minutes of chatting with her new friends, another slightly older boy approached Lal. He was built like an athlete and he took the girl’s hand without asking permission first. 

“Hey, I didn’t know little Eric here had such good looking friends,” he said smoothly as he kissed the back of her hand. “I’m Henry, Eric’s older brother.” 

Lal could see the resemblance now. Henry had the same hazel eyes as his brother, but his hair was more strawberry blond than red.

“Forgive Henry, Lal. He may seem like a good idea, but he’s as bad as Commander Riker when it comes to women,” Eric informed her as he snatched her hand out of his brother’s reach.

“Commander Riker is a very good kisser,” Lal commented offhandedly as she looked up at Henry. “Are you a good kisser?”

“Dear lord, I’ve created a monster,” joked Shelley as she pulled her boyfriend away so that he could no longer interfere. She couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

The gathering seemed to go quiet as Henry leaned down and obliged Lal and her curiosity. He kissed her in a way that would make any school girl blush, but kept his tongue to himself.

When they parted Annette stormed over and shoved Lal hard in the shoulder. Of course the android barely moved an inch, which only seemed to fuel the blond’s rage all the more. 

“Be careful Henry, she could shock you or something,” Annette warned rudely.

“Grow up, Annie,” muttered Eric. “You just can’t stand that someone else is getting all the attention.”

Annette scowled at him and then glared at Lal. Then she narrowed her eyes and tried to move around behind the girl. “That’s my barrette! I leant it Shelley. I didn’t say you could wear it!”

Before Lal could apologize for the misunderstanding, Annette yanked on the barrette still fastened in her hair. It wasn’t painful, but the girl used enough force to pull away a lock of hair at Lal’s hairline just behind her ear and expose some of her inner workings. 

There was a collective gasp throughout the room as Annette held not only her barrette but an actual piece of Lal in her hand. With shaking hands she detached the clip and handed the hair to Shelley. Unable to bring herself to look at Lal again, Annette walked out of the room.

“I’m so sorry, Lal. Are you alright?” asked Shelley as she gave the android back the piece of herself.

“Wow, that’s so weird,” said Henry as he examined the blinking lights in her head. “Seriously, are you okay?”

“I am fine,” Lal said quietly, though she didn’t feel fine. She felt something she couldn’t quite name. Maybe it was embarrassment.

Henry took her hand and led her into one of the bedrooms so that she could have some privacy to fix herself up again. He watched her reflection in the mirror and smiled in a reassuring way. Lal decided that maybe this Henry boy was not all that bad; he was quite a good kisser too. Maybe if things didn’t pan out with Wesley he could be her mate.

She replaced the missing piece of scalp and was now taking out the remaining clips and pins from her hair since the up-do was ruined. As she combed her fingers through her hair she felt Henry come up behind her.

She turned around to face him and couldn’t help but want to touch his hair. She told herself it was to compare the texture with her own, but really she wanted an excuse to initiate contact again. The boy made no protest when she ran her fingers slowly through the hair by his temples. In fact he used their close proximity to brush his hand against her breast. At first Lal thought it was an accident, but then he did it again with a more obvious intention.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. Touching someone’s hair was one thing, but cupping her breast was another altogether.

“I satisfied your curiosity. I figure you could satisfy mine,” he said with a smirk. “God, you feel so real,” he added with a hint of lust before leaning down and claiming her mouth with his own. 

He wasn’t as chaste now that they were alone, but she clamped her jaw to keep him from opening her mouth. She could feel one of his hands was working it’s way up her skirt and alarms were going off in her positronic brain. She tried to knock his hands away with minimal force, but he was determined to continue groping her body.

“I do not think that I want you to touch me this way,” she said when she managed to pull away from his eager her lips.

“Sure you do. I see how you want to be like every other girl at this party,” he told her as he held her wrist to stop her from retreating.

Then everything was a blur. Somehow Henry spun her around and backed her up to the bed. Because he had caught her off guard he was able to knock her down onto her back. Suddenly, he was on top of her, pressing his body to hers and kissing her forcefully. 

“No, please stop,” she said as she gently pushed up on his shoulders, hoping that her request would cause him to realize she didn’t want to participate anymore.

“Come on, Lal. I can make you feel alive. I can make your dreams come true,” he said as he continued to press down on her. Lal didn’t believe him. He spoke in a way that made her doubt that he was actually being considerate of her needs at all. 

When she felt his erection rub into her inner thigh she knew that Eric was right about his brother; he was a bad boy. Even Commander Riker would ask for consent before trying something so sexual.

So Lal used her full strength and easily shoved him off of her and onto the floor.

“No means no!” she said loudly as she stepped over him. 

Henry watched, dumbfounded by her rejection, as she left the room. 

She knew she was out of her depth again. She was wrong about Henry. He was not mate material. She doubted that being human meant giving into shameful boys and their sexual desires if she didn’t want to. She should have listened to Wesley and she should have known that adolescent boys could be just as untrustworthy as the girls.

Luckily, the little party was back in full swing when Lal emerged, dishevelled, from the bedroom. Everyone was laughing and chatting away as she left unnoticed out the main door.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Lal. Don’t worry, things will get better.


	6. The Confidant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi is good friend :)

Lal kept her head down as she charged back through the corridor. She was heading home, back to the familiar and away from danger. Not that she was ever in any real danger. Sometimes it was good to be the strongest person in the room even if she had been the most naive.

As she reviewed everything that happened she found herself becoming overwhelmed. There was another emotion that she could not quite pin down. It had a very similar colour to the embarrassment she was sure she felt before.

She was almost there, almost home and able to put it all behind her. 

Someone passed her in hall. They were calling her name. Lal stopped and pulled herself out of her internal whirlwind before turning and making eye contact. It was Geordi.

“Lal, are you alright?” he asked as he took in her appearance. He hadn’t been sure it was her right away, but the android glow was unmistakable through his VISOR.

Why was everyone asking her that today? Of course she was alright. She could take care of herself. She was not a child. She didn’t care if everyone laughed at her. Why should she? But she did care and Annette had been mean to her again and that boy had touched her in ways that she didn’t like; even after she told him to stop.

Suddenly, everything was too much. Suddenly, she was not alright anymore. Geordi rushed over to the girl as she started to cry.

“Hey, hey...it’s okay, Lal. I’ve got you,” he said softly as he put a comforting arm around her. “Look come with me, okay?”

Lal nodded as she continued to feel the hot tears run down her face. It was both fascinating and terrifying to be emotional enough to actually cry.

Within moments Geordi had her sitting on the couch in his quarters. He handed her some tissue and she wiped her damp cheeks. When she saw the pink blush come away she began to wipe at the rest of the makeup, removing the offending pigments from her face.

“Do you want me to get your father?” Geordi asked plainly as he watched her slowly pull herself together.

“No thank you,” she replied quietly. 

“Do you want to tell me about it? My sister used to tell me about all kinds trouble she would get into.”

She shook her head as she wiped what was left of the lipstick off of her mouth. She imagined a great deal of it was now on Henry’s mouth.

Geordi sighed and put his arm around her again. “You know, if you ever do want to talk I’m always around. I know all too well what it’s like to grow up different from everyone else. You’re constantly unsure of who your real friends are.”

“Did my father mention that I was having social difficulties?” she asked after another moment of silence.

“It was Wes, actually,” he told her. “He said a couple of girls were picking on you. He wasn’t sure if it was bothering you or not, but I’d say it bothers you.”

“One of the girls was very nice to me this afternoon. At least I believe that she was,” she said as she looked up at him. “But I was at a party and there was this very friendly boy...we kissed and I may have misled him to believe that I wanted something more from him. He was displeased when I told him to stop.”

The confession was hard for Geordi to hear. When Lal started to cry again he pulled her close and kissed her temple. “What did Wesley say? Was he there with you?” 

“No. He warned me not to go without him, but I foolishly disregarded his advice,” she continued. “I thought I could show everyone I was just like them, but I am not. I was conceded and naive. Do you think I am a bad person, Geordi?” she muttered as she stared into her lap.

“No, Lal. You are one of the best people I know,” he told her sincerely. “Did that boy hurt you? Do you want to report him?”

Lal managed to shake her head again. “No. I was not exactly myself. Perhaps he was not himself either.”

Geordi pushed down his anger for the anonymous boy. He wanted to be proud of her for taking the high road and giving her assailant the benefit of the doubt, but he also wanted to know who he was so he could make his life a misery.

“Well, I want you to tell me or Data if he gives you anymore trouble,” he said evenly. He knew yelling and carrying on would only make matters worse for her. He needed her to calm down before she became critical again. “We know you want to prove that you can take care of yourself, but at the same time it’s important to rely on the people who really care about you. We’re your family.”

Lal’s face brightened a little. She knew he was right. She didn’t need the approval of these silly young people. She already had friends.

“Thank you, Geordi. I believe that you are my family as well,” she told him with a smile.

“Good, I’m glad,” he said with a grin. Then he hugged her and for a moment he reflected on how much easier it was to hug her than Data. He silently wished that the elder android would pick up some of his daughter’s more affectionate habits.

“Geordi, may I make one request?” she inquired as they continued to embrace.

“Sure, Lal. Name it,” he said lovingly.

“Do not tell my father or Wesley what has happened. They may not be as understanding as you have been.”

Geordi laughed despite himself. He knew he should tell Data eventually, but maybe for now he could keep quiet. “Sure. But no more acting like someone you’re not. By the way, where did you get that ridiculous dress?”

“It is Shelley’s. She applied the makeup as well,” Lal explained. “It is a little...tight, I suppose.”

“Yeah, a little.” 

It was a lot tight. He didn’t even know she had cleavage until now. It sort of ruined the image he had in his head of her being his partner’s little girl. “They grow up so fast,” he murmured to himself.

.....

The next day Data was approached by Lt. Reilly in Engineering. The man pulled him aside to discuss a personal matter. Data had never had any reason to socialize with Mr. Reilly before, however as Second Officer it wasn’t unheard of to be asked to assist with personal concerns or to act as mediator in cases of disagreements between officers.

“Your daughter attacked my son,” said Reilly abruptly. No lead in, no warning. He went straight to the point.

Data frowned at the accusation. “Lal would never cause harm to anyone willingly, or intentionally. Are you certain it was her?”

“Henry said the girl came onto him and then broke his wrist when she changed her mind,” he explained plainly. “My son is not a bad person. If she said she didn’t want to be with him he would have backed off. You need to teach your girl to control herself.”

Lt. Reilly was speaking loud enough to draw the attention of those close by. Geordi caught the end of what he said and came over to insert himself in their dispute.

“Gentlemen, what is going on? What did Lal do exactly?” asked Geordi politely.

“This man claims that she used force against his son and broke his wrist,” explained Data.

Geordi could see that his friend was rattled by the news. Luckily, the Chief Engineer wasn’t. He had seen Lal after she left the party and he knew that if she had hurt anyone she would have told him.

“Which son? Eric or Henry?” Geordi inquired with ease. He knew that Eric and Wesley were friends so it was doubtful that it was him.

“It was Henry,” said Reilly as he gave Geordi a suspicious side glance. “This doesn’t concern you, sir.”

“Hmm, yeah it does. You see Lal was quite upset last night because some boy tried something with her even after she said ‘no’. So even if she unintentionally harmed him I think it might be best to let this go.”

“And allow her to hurt another innocent kid? She’s not a child and she shouldn’t be allowed to be with our kids unsupervised,” Reilly said coldly.

“I presume this was a social gathering in your quarters, Mr. Reilly,” Data interjected.

“Yes...”

“And were you present while your two sons had several of their friends in your quarters last evening?”

“No...”

“Ah, it was your wife then?” pressed Data.

“No. Look, like I said I have good sons...” said Reilly defensively.

“I believe that Doctor Crusher has warned Wesley not to socialize with Eric’s older brother because he has a reputation for playing Parisses Squares and has injured himself several times,” said Data after reevaluating the facts presented. “Are you certain that it was Lal who caused the broken wrist and not a made up accusation to cover for his other less approved of activities?”

“I think trying to force yourself on a girl is a fairly disapproved of activity,” commented Geordi as he crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. “Maybe you shouldn’t allow your boys to have girls in your quarters unless a parent is around.”

Lt. Reilly looked as though he was starting to get that there was more of a problem than he realized. “Fine. I can see that perhaps I was misled. I’ll keep my boys in check as long as you talk to that girl of yours, Mr. Data. Seems like maybe I’m not the only parent who needs to pay better attention to their kids.”

“I will take your advisement under consideration, Mr. Reilly, and I thank you for bringing this matter to my attention,” responded Data.

When Lt. Reilly was out of earshot Data turned to Geordi. “Why did Lal not come to me with this? I cannot understand why she is suddenly keeping things from me.”

“She came to me at least,” Geordi told him. Though he wasn’t sure that she would have told him either if he hadn’t discovered her in the corridor. “Wait, what else has she been keeping from you?”

“She did not speak to me before staying overnight in Wesley’s quarters,” he said with a frown. “I had to confront her about it before she told me. I cannot fathom what other secrets she might have.”

“I really doubt that she injured that boy,” added Geordi with confidence.

“I agree. She has fail-safes the same as mine. I know that she is still experiencing emotional influences, but it would be near impossible for her to cause unintentional harm to a person.”

“Data, Lal asked me not to tell you about what happened. She went to the party without Wesley and against his advisement,” Geordi said as he lowered his voice. “She knows better now and I think it’s good for her to make mistakes sometimes. It can help her to learn.”

“Wesley was not there?” Data asked as though it was an import fact to verify. “She went on her own?

“Yeah, I have to admit that other than that boy being a creep I was pretty proud of her,” Geordi noted with a grin. He decided to leave out the bit about Lal letting one of the girls dress her up provocatively. He didn’t want to make an issue of it.

“Thank you for being there for her, Geordi. I can appreciate that earning Lal’s trust also entails keeping her confidence. I will not let on that you told me about her being at the party.”

Geordi was now feeling pretty proud of himself. Parenting wasn’t so hard after all. He thought this would be a perfect moment for Data to reward with some sort of affectionate gesture. Sadly instead of a hug, or a kiss he had to settle for a hardy pat on the shoulder. He should have expected as much. He would just have to explain his disappointment later when they were alone.

......


	7. Rumour Has It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lal isn’t exactly ready how men see her.

After the party, which Lal deemed both a success and a failure, she decided to go back to what she knew best. Guinan was more than happy to have the young android back in Ten Forward, but she had a few questions on her mind.

It didn’t escape the bartender’s notice that a few of her male patrons seemed extra attentive to the girl. Although Lal was wearing her usual attire of burgundy and muted lilac she might as well have been wearing Mardi Gras beads around her neck. Guinan had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the rumour that was going around.

“Lal, is everything going alright with you?” Guinan asked.

The girl placed her large serving tray down and gave her mentor and inquisitive look. “I am functioning within normal parameters,” she replied not knowing what else to say.

“That’s good to hear, but is everything okay? Like, at home and in your social life?” she elaborated.

Lal seemed to give this some thought. While she was distracted a male officer came and sat on the stool closest to her. He very obviously checked her out, his eyes lingering on the young woman’s backside.

“Hi there,” he said smoothly when Lal finally noticed him.

“Enjoying the view?” asked Guinan rather sardonically.

Lal tried to follow the man’s gaze before he corrected his behaviour. She ended up spinning around, but couldn’t understand what had gotten his attention.

“Excuse me, sir, but what were you looking at?” Lal inquired politely.

The man looked a little uncomfortable. Guinan glared at him and dared him to answer the question.

“Go on, Quinton, tell the girl,” she pressed.

“I was...to be honest I was looking at you, Miss,” the man confessed bashfully.

“Was there something on my skirt?”

“No, I was appreciating your figure,” Quinton added as the tips of his ears turned red.

Lal smiled a little and placed her hands on her hips. “Thank you. I chose it myself. I too am very fond of it,” she said, delighted.

“Lal...” Guinan wanted to correct her and point out that wasn’t exactly what the man meant.

“You have wonderful taste,” Quinton said flirtatiously, feeling more at ease. “You are a beautiful young woman.”

“Thank you,” Lal said again, her smile become wider. “There is this boy I like, but I do not believe that he sees me as beautiful.”

Quinton made a face and took one of her hands. “That boy must be an idiot. I would love to take you out sometime; maybe have dinner. A girl like you shouldn’t waste her time waiting around. I think we could have a lot of fun.”

Lal opened her mouth to reply, but Guinan interjected. “Enough, Quinton. Lal is too young and inexperienced for you.”

“Guinan,” the girl pouted in protest, “what is the harm in having fun?”

“Trust me, your idea of fun is very different from his,” Guinan warned her.

In true Lal fashion she turned towards the officer and asked, “What is your idea of fun?”

“Dinner, dancing,” he began—both were things that Lal liked as well even if food wasn’t really a necessity. Then he added, “and of course making-out and having sex.”

Lal’s brown eyes were suddenly as big as saucers. “Do all men propose sex within minutes of meeting a woman?”

“Lal, is it? You should probably presume that almost every man who speaks to you is already thinking about having sex with you,” Quinton explained quite frankly. “Especially after hearing what people are saying about you.”

“Thank you, Quinton. You can crawl back under the rock you came out from, now!” said Guinan loudly as she physically inserted herself between them.

“What are people saying about me?” Lal called after the man. He all but ran away from the threatening bartender. “Guinan?”

“Lal, sit down. This isn’t going to be easy to hear,” Guinan told her softly.

“I have excellent aural receptors. I should have no issue hearing you,” Lal informed her firmly.

Guinan tried again with a different approach this time. “No Lal, what I’m going to tell you is a rumour that’s been circulating about you and it is not a very nice thing.”

“Oh,” she said simply as she sat down and folded her hands on the bar. “Why would someone spread hearsay about me that is unkind?”

“Lal, I honestly don’t know why some people do mean things, but it happens,” Guinan said. “The rumour is that you went to a party and had sex with several of the young men. It was also implied that you were so rough that you injured one of them.”

The young android took a moment to process this information. While it was factual that she had been to a party she had not engaged in more than a few ill conceived kisses. When Henry tried to get more from her, she left. It was possible that Henry had started the rumour, but the look of outrage on Annette’s face lingered in her memory banks.

Lal put her face in her hands. She wanted to disappear. What a foolish person she was. She naively believed those people were becoming her friends and now she had been painted as having an easy virtue, or as Annette would say, a slut.

“Lal, no one who actually knows you believes it,” Guinan told her in an attempt to reassure her. 

“What will my father say?” Lal whined into her hands. “He will be so disappointed in me.”

“No he won’t, because Data knows it isn’t true.”

When Lal finally looked up from her hands her palms were wet with tears. “I am ashamed. I spoke too openly with that man and he only wanted to proposition me for sex.”

“Lal, sweetheart, I’m sorry that happened. It was a misunderstanding. Lots of people enjoy casual sex. It’s a fact. So don’t feel ashamed.”

“I should have chosen the body of a child. Because that is what I am—a child,” Lal said harshly as she stood. “I think I will go home now, Guinan. I apologize for any disruption I may have caused you.”

“No need to apologize. You are always welcome here,” Guinan said kindly. “Quinton maybe not so much anymore.”

She was trying to make light of a heavy learning experience, but Lal didn’t quite grasp her humour. Guinan watched as the girl slowly walked out of the lounge.

Wesley met up with Lal in the corridor. He had been on his way to Ten Forward to speak with her, but was surprised to learn from the computer that she was on her way back to the cybernetics lab.

“Hey, Lal. Can I talk to you?” he asked as he caught up to her.

She didn’t stop walking, or look over at him. She continued on her way with her eyes focused on the floor.

“Lal, what’s wrong? Are you angry with me?” Wesley added when she didn’t speak.

“No, Wesley,” she muttered as she entered the lab.

“Is something wrong with you? It’s kind of early to check into the lab, isn’t it?”

Lal didn’t answer again. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him, it was more that she was sure that she would say the wrong thing. That seemed to be her problem these days. She was always saying or doing the wrong thing.

“Do you think I have done myself a disservice by choosing the form of a young human woman?” she asked at last.

Wesley just stared at her for a good minute and a half. “What are you talking about? Where is this coming from?”

“I am not very good at being human, or female,” she added quietly as she stood by the steps up to the central platform.

“Lal, you’ve only existed for a short time. You need to go easy on yourself. It takes time to find out who you are,” he said sympathetically. “I think if you had chosen to be a male Nausican that would have been a huge problem,” he added offhandedly.

He wasn’t sure that she was listening to him. She seemed to be somewhere else as her eyes focused inwards,

“Maybe I should change my complexion to mimic my father. Perhaps if people have an immediate visual cue that I am different it would assist them in how to approach me.”

“Lal, what’s going on? Did something happen?” Wesley was beginning to hate how repetitive he was sounding, but she still hadn’t answered him.

“Have you not heard the rumour? Apparently I am very inclined to sexual promiscuity,” she told him with a frown.

“I told you not to go to that party.” 

The instant the words left his mouth he knew they were wrong. Clearly Lal was hurting and an ‘I told you so’ statement was completely uncalled for. 

The young android stuck out her chin and stood tall, which wasn’t what he was expecting. Then she crumpled and sat on the steps with her face in her hands...this was what he was afraid would happen.

“How can I be so intelligent and so stupid all at once?” she sobbed.

Wesley quickly sat next to her and put an arm around her. “You’re not stupid. Those teenagers are stupid. I can’t believe I ever called them my friends.”

“I did not have sex with any of the boys, or the girls,” she muttered as she continued to cry.

“I know you didn’t...Data knows that you didn’t. No one is angry, or disappointed in you,” he told her adamantly.

“You are. You are disappointed,” she pointed out. Then she looked up at him and her tear-streaked face broke his heart.

“No, Lal. I’m only mad at myself. I should have been there for you. I should have known that you were too curious to pass up going. I’m sorry.”

“Really?” she asked to be sure. 

Lal stopped crying and tilted her head. Wesley loved it when she did that. Logically he knew that she had picked up it up from Data, along with many other human-like mannerisms, but he still felt like it was something uniquely her. He smiled and boldly wiped away the dampness on her cheeks with his hand. 

“Yeah, really,” he whispered, “I’m really sorry.”

It would have been the perfect moment to lean down and kiss her, but in light of her concerns about people misinterpreting her as a promiscuous woman he decided not to. He settle with getting her to lean her head on his shoulder instead. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder. It was better than any silly party, or forced activity. At some point she took one his hand and held it with both of hers. Lal smiled softly when she heard Wesley sigh with contentment. 

Everything seemed to be alright again. Boys like Henry and men like Quinton didn’t understand the importance of true affection; not like Geordi and Wesley, not like her real family did.

“I’m happy that you chose to look the way you do,” Wesley said out of the blue. “Not because you’re pretty or human...but because you chose it. This is how you see yourself.”

Lal looked up at him again and furrowed her brow. “Are you not happy with your own appearance?”

“No seventeen year old is happy with their appearance,” he replied with honesty. “I’m a gangly, awkward dork. I would rather have broad shoulders and strong arms. You know, like a man.”

“You will one day,” she said a grin. “And since I am an android I can predict how you will change as you mature and I believe you will have an acceptable appearance as a man.”

“Acceptable? Gee, thanks,” he teased with a laugh.

“I believe your acts of kindness and your desire to be good are more important than your physical appearance,” she added firmly.

Which of course Wesley took to mean that he would be ugly, but she wouldn’t care as long as he was a good person. It was a fairly disappointing prospect.

“Boy, you really know how to sweet talk a person, don’t you?” he said, laying on the sarcasm he was sure she would miss.

“Do not be so conceited, Wesley. You know you are attractive. Annette certainly thinks you are,” Lal replied playfully,

“She does?” he asked more seriously. He was never sure what girls thought about him. He was actually lost most of the time when it came to girls

Lal didn’t like the change in his tone when she mentioned Annette. So she ignored it and put her head back down on the boy’s shoulder. Maybe she could enjoy his company a little longer before they had to return to reality and face the rest of the ship.

.......


	8. Movie Hang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because what is more teenagery than watching a movie with a group of friends?

After some minor coaxing Wesley convinced Lal to go back to class. She attended two more classes that week and although she did her best to continue to fit in she mostly kept to herself. 

Shelley was being civil, but Annette was still being abrasive. The blond would always find a way to pull her friend away from the android, so it was difficult for Lal to tell whether Shelley was actually her friend or not.

At the end of the Friday session Lal stayed back to talk to the teacher. When she came out of the classroom she found Wesley in the hallway talking to Annette. At first she thought she would wait politely for the boy to finish so that they could leave together, but the longer she observed the pair the more she realized that this was no ordinary conversation. 

They were standing quite close together and Wesley was leaning in towards Annette. They were also talking very quietly and smiling a great deal. Then Wesley reached out his hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Annette’s ear, lightly caressing her cheek as he did so.

Lal was a little confused. She had never seen him so physically flirtatious before and it made her feel something. When Annette laughed at Wesley’s terrible engineering joke she understood what the feeling was. It was anger.

She wasn’t angry at Wesley exactly, or the annoying girl who was now flipping her hair and touching his chest. She was angry with herself. 

Lal had done her best to understand the world that Wesley lived in from to day. She tried to discover how to be a better friend and a more attractive person in hopes that it would bring them closer together. And she honesty believed that they had had a moment the other day in the lab; but now she could that she was obvious mistaken. She had been so consumed by her goals that she had missed one vitally important fact. Wesley really didn’t want to be more than her friend. Not now and not ever. He was never going to be her mate.

Wesley caught sight of Lal in his peripheral vision as she stormed off. His first thought was that Shelley had been mean to her again. So he didn’t follow her right away, wanting to give her time to work it out for herself. Later, when he went to check up on the android girl at her quarters, she closed the door in his face.

He stood in stunned silence as he stared at the closed door. He really didn’t know why Lal was behaving so out of character and he panicked. More and more she was doing the unexpected and becoming sporadically emotional. He was growing concerned that she might be in the first stages of cascade failure again. 

Wesley hit the door chime not once, but several times continuously until she opened the door.

“That is quite disruptive,” Lal blurted as she glared up at him. “I do not wish to speak to you right now. I thought that was clear when I closed the door without greeting you.”

“Lal, you’re scaring me,” he told quite honestly. “Just tell me what’s wrong. No one was even talking about the party today, or that dumb rumour. You seem really upset about something and that’s not normal for you.”

“Are you an authority on what is my normal state of being?” she questioned sharply as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and continued to glare. “You are not my keeper, Wesley. I am fine.”

This time, when she tried to close the door, Wesley stuck his foot in its path to keep it from closing all the way—the safety sensors reopening it. 

“Let me come in,” he demanded. 

Lal furrowed her brow and pouted at his request. “No,” she grumbled.

“Don’t make me call your father. You know how Data might react if he thinks you’re behaving erratically.”

Lal opened her mouth to protest again, but closed it without another word and moved aside. Wesley went inside and threw his hands up in the air. 

“What is going on with you, Lal? One minute you’re content to join in and learn from me and my friends and the next you’re acting like a moody teenaged girl,” he said with exasperation. “What gives? Is this all you’ve managed to absorb? Can’t you see that this kind of behaviour is juvenile and unproductive?”

“You seem to like it when Annie does it,” she pointed out plainly. “Shall I flick my hair and touch your body for no reason except to get your attention?”

“What are you talking about? You can’t be jealous...can you?” he commented, taken aback by her accusation. Then he remembered how she was crying the other day. It stood to reason that maybe she was becoming capable of more complex emotions.

“I may not experience ‘human’ emotions, but I am not devoid of feeling. And I am not jealous,” she assured him. “I am disappointed. I tried to show you that I am a good friend and an attractive person and you have allowed your adolescent hormones to lead you astray.”

“Wait...you are a good friend. I thought we agreed to just be friends?” Wesley asked, fixated on that one fact. “Look, Lal, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I had no idea.”

The girl softened a little. She could tell that he was trying his best even if it wasn’t what she ultimately wanted. “I accept your apology, Wesley,” she told him calmly.

“So we’re okay?” he added still unsure if they were.

“Yes, we are okay,” she conceded.

“You know, I’m having a movie night tonight with only a few people; why don’t you join us?” he asked kindly. “Maybe we can try and find a better way of balancing our friendship with rest of my friends.”

“No thank you,” Lal replied quietly and looked away.

Wesley was confused by her response. “Why not?”

“Because I overheard Eric and Scooter talking. They are under the impression that because this film will be viewed in your quarters that there will be no parental supervision and therefore they can misbehave.”

Wesley rubbed at his temples. He was trying his best to repair whatever damage he had accidentally caused to their relationship, but she was sounding more and more like one of the adults in his life and he really didn’t need one more person telling him what to do, or how to behave.

“Fine, Lal. Just know that the invitation stands,” he told her politely as he backed up towards the door. “We’re viewing an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You probably wouldn’t like it, anyways.”

Lal quickly referenced the name and title before frowning. Vampires were a very strange human invention of which she had no understanding. Why anyone would create an entire fictional genre about undead demons who feed on the blood of the living was beyond her. It was quite morbid and unappealing.

“You are correct. I believe I would not care for it,” she replied flatly.

“At least we can finally agree on something,” he said glumly as he stood in the open doorway. “I want you to know that I really liked that you were taking one of my classes. I hope you won’t drop out now.”

She didn’t give him an answer, or any indication of how she was leaning. He was right to wonder. She wasn’t sure that she should bother going to class since his friends were so unpredictable and he would be drawn towards Annette every time they were together.

When Wesley was gone Lal didn’t feel any better about anything. She was still disappointed in general. If she couldn’t work out how to be Wesley’s girlfriend—a boy she had already spent a good amount of time with—how would she ever figure out how to be someone’s mate. She was hopeless.

......

When Lal lamented to Guinan at length about her social dilemma, the sage told her to swallow her pride and go watch the damn movie. 

So she did what she was advised to do. When Wesley opened the door he couldn’t help the smug smile that crossed his lips as he leaned on the door frame. “I see you changed your mind.”

“May I please join you and your friends?” Lal asked sheepishly as she looked down at her feet. 

Wesley wasn’t sure if this was an act that she had practiced or if she was actually humbling herself to him. Either way he couldn’t stay mad at her and he invited her in.

The lights were down low and the film was already started as they rejoined the group. Eric and Shelley were sharing a large armchair; Shelley basically sitting in her boyfriend’s lap. Lal felt herself blush and she looked away before anyone could accuse her of staring. 

Scooter was on the floor, lying on a couch cushion and snacking out of a large bowl of popped corn. He looked up and gave her a warm grin as she stepped over his legs. This made her feel more at ease. Next to him was a dark skinned boy she didn’t recognize, he had curly brown hair and was holding onto one of Scooter’s arms. He gave her a silent wave and a smile. She politely waved back.

Just as Lal was beginning to believe that she had been concerned over nothing her eyes locked with Annette’s cold glare. She was seated on one end of the couch with her arms and legs crossed, radiating an unmistakable loathing. Luckily, she softened her posturing when Wesley sat down next to her and stole her focus. Lal reluctantly squeezed into the seat at the other end, next to her friend and hoped that the blond would ignore her from now on. 

Not five minutes later Lal could see the other girl’s hand land on Wesley’s knee. She decided to distract herself and turned her attention to the screen to attempt to decipher where they were in the plot. 

The android had done her research and read through Stoker’s short novel within minutes. It was full of boring accounts about real estate and archaic religious beliefs. She really had no reason to believe that these teenagers would find the story all that interesting. But then three very scantly clad seductresses seemed to appear from nothing and began to behave quite erotically. 

As they started to do quite sexually suggestive things to the dark haired man in their trap—a character named Jonathan Harker—Lal could hear Annette whisper in Wesley’s ear; “He looks like you. You know, I could do those things to you if you want.”

Lal couldn’t help herself as she spied over at the pair. Annette’s hand had moved up the boy’s leg while her other hand played with his hair. Even in the low light Lal could tell that Wesley was experiencing arousal. He had all the same symptoms from the night she had helped him back to his quarters. The increased heat rate, elevated body temperature and flushed cheeks giving him away. 

She wondered if Wesley had only felt those things for her because he was inebriated that night, or if he was just lacking physical control and she had nothing to do with how he was feeling. Perhaps anyone could have turned him on just as easily.

Lal shut her eyes tight as Annette leaned over and kissed the boy she would never have as her own. Then, not wanting to witness anything more, she abruptly stood up and left out the main door.

Shelley couldn’t help but feel badly for the android girl as she watched her retreat. “Aw, poor thing.”

“Shit,” Wesley cursed under his breath when he realized his mistake. He couldn’t believe that he could be so careless as to give into Annette while Lal was sitting so close to him let alone in the same room.

“I didn’t know ‘The Brain Trust’ could swear. I like it,” purred Annette as she tried to kiss him again. Wesley didn’t let her and he pushed her away instead. “Um excuse you,” she snarked coldly.

“Please don’t be mad. I need to go after her,” Wesley said frankly. 

She wasn’t ready to give up so easily and grabbed his wrist to keep him from leaving. “Oh please. Serves her right for coming to date night alone,” Annette said mockingly.

“Annie, don’t be like that,” chided Eric. The girl shot him a look that could kill. 

“Wes, you need to accept that your little robot friend isn’t ready to be exposed to real teenagers,” she said as she tightened her hold. “You heard what she did to Henry at the party, didn’t you?”

Of course he had heard about, everyone had. He also knew that there was no way Lal would disappear into a bedroom for the sole purpose of messing around with a boy she barely knew. 

“Now would you rather go after your childish little playmate, or stay here and make-out with me? Believe me, you want to choose very carefully,” she added with a threatening edge.

Wesley knew that he should go after Lal, but his whole body was screaming at him to stay and explore the thrilling possibilities with Annette. He had been trying to get her to notice him for weeks, after all. But he also knew that his stupid brain and sense of responsibility would always win out eventually. 

“Sorry guys. You’re welcome to stay. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, addressing the room as he stood up. Then he gently removed the girl’s hand and walked to the door.

“You made the right choice, my friend,” said Scooter from the floor as Wesley made his exist. His show of support earned him a kick in the leg from Annette.

“What!?” he shot up at her defensively.

“You should have come alone, Scooter. You were supposed to be a distraction if Lal showed up,” Annette told him harshly.

“Yeah, but Wes made it sound like she wasn’t coming and Burberry loves vampire stuff,” Scooter whined in response.

“Why don’t you just go with Crusher if you’re so worried?” said Burberry, the now named curly haired boy.

The girl sat up straighter as though to appear more confident. “I am not worried. That girl has more in common with a tricorder than a human,” she rebutted.

“Sure, because Crusher isn’t fascinated by computers and adept at all things involving advanced tech,” said Burberry with slight sarcasm.

“She’s still just a machine,” added Annette, a little less sure of herself.

“A really cute machine, though, and self-respecting if she turned down my idiot brother,” noted Eric, earning him a whack to the chest from his girlfriend. “Cool it Shell. I thought you liked her.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean I condone you finding her cute,” Shelley rebutted tersely.

“No one is cuter than you, Shelley,” Eric said with sincerity. Then he tenderly kissed her full on the lips.

Suddenly a collective groan was made as the couple began to get more intimate. No one liked watching them go at it like animals.

“Get a room!” yelled Scooter before he dramatically threw his cushion at the pair in protest. 

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, Wesley will make things better with Lal ;)


	9. More Erotic than Vampires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley and Lal finally face their feelings for one another and things escalate quickly ;)

The corridors of the Enterprise were relatively empty. It was easy to spot Lal as she made her way back to her quarters. Strangely, she was walking at a normal pace. Wesley thought he would have to chase after her, but he caught up easily and actually trailed behind her so he could gather his thoughts.

By the time they arrived at the girl’s door she knew that he was behind her. The boy was ready for her to close the door in his face again and was surprised when she let him in without protest.

“I’m sorry, Lal,” he said straight away. “I swear I was shocked that Annie was so forward about kissing me,” he then added in his own defence.

“There is no need to apologize. You liked it,” she said quietly as she looked away from him. “She made you feel good.”

“Yeah, I did...and she did, but I had no idea that was going to happen. I would never have invited you so that you could sit next to me while another girl kissed me. I mean, that’s just rude,” he rambled awkwardly.

Lal finally made eye contact, which only seemed to make him feel more uneasy.

“Do you wish to have sexual intercourse with her?” she asked him point-blank.

Wesley blinked a few times, muted by her frank question. 

“I...I..don’t know.”

“I believe that she wishes to have intercourse with you,” she added after another moment.

“Lal, you don’t know that...besides I wouldn’t,” he managed to tell her.

“I do not understand. If you continued to have a physical relationship would it not eventually lead to sex?”

“Okay...maybe...eventually.” Wesley was struggling to understand why Lal was so obsessed with sex these days. If he didn’t know any better he would have thought she’d been replaced by a hormonally charged human doppelgänger.

“Why do you hesitate on this matter? It is natural for a young male such as yourself to desire sex. Eric’s brother was not shy about communicating his desires and I can see now that Annette is more desirable to you as a partner than I would be.”

Wesley suddenly felt lightheaded and had to sit down. A week ago they were discussing whether or not she was ready to be a girlfriend and now she was jumping right to having sex. It was more than he was ready to deal with especially after the party and her hurt feelings.

“Lal, have you talked to your father, or Counsellor Troi about having sex? ‘Cause I really think that maybe they would be the ones to talk to...maybe even Geordi,” he suggested.

“You are younger than them and I value your thoughts and experience,” she said as she sat down next to him.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m rather lacking in both,” he said as he ran both hands through his hair. “Sadly, I don’t know anything about sex. At least nothing beyond what you can read in a text book.” 

He blushed a little thinking of all the vastly thorough medical papers he had access to thanks to his mother. It was beyond him, though, how he would ever have the nerve to try anything he had learned with a confident girl like Annette. 

“Then why are you watching a provocative film with a group of your adolescent friends?” she asked with obvious confusion.

“Eric suggested it,” he confided. “Which probably means that it was Shelley’s idea.”

“Everyone appeared to have a romantic partner. Does this mean that Scooter is attracted to boys?” she inquired as she gave the situation more thought. 

“Well, I think Berry is attracted to boys. Scooter likes everyone,” he said with a smile.

“Oh,” she said as she thought it over again. “Do you have a preference?”

Wesley shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. If I’m being honest I’m still trying to navigate girls. I’m not sure if I feel the same sort pull towards boys. Maybe it’s the person that matters.”

Lal frowned at his remark. “If that were true you would not waste your time on Annette. She is a selfish person. You are very giving. She is not a good match,” she said.

The boy laughed and Lal looked unimpressed. But then he said, “You’re right. She’ll walk all over me.” This made her smile.

“Wesley, why do you dismiss me so easily?” she asked as she leaned a bit closer.

“I think I’m scared of losing you,” he whispered as though it was some shameful secret.

“Losing me?” Lal echoed softly.

“No one thought Data could stop your cascade failure. We were all so scared that you wouldn’t recover,” Wesley confessed with sadness. “I just don’t want to overwhelm you. I couldn’t cope if I was the cause of a relapse failure.”

His words touched something deep inside of her. It was more arousing than any lurid vampire she had seen on the screen. Without warning she kissed him on the lips. Instead of pulling away, as she expected, he placed a hand behind her head and pulled her closer. 

It was suddenly as though they couldn’t get enough contact, but it wasn’t uncomfortable like with Henry. No, Wesley’s attention wasn’t just welcomed, it was reciprocated. Lal boldly straddled his lap and tangled her fingers in his hair as they continued to kiss urgently. She could feel his warm hands rub up and down her back until they finally took hold of her waist.

Wesley softly coxed her mouth open, which confused her momentarily until his tongue found hers and he moaned unapologetically. She mused to herself that this what she had observed in Ten Forward and it was more wonderful now that she understood the motivation behind open mouth kissing.

As he deepened their kissing, Wesley could feel Lal’s thighs tighten against his hips and she began to make a wonderful friction where she pressed herself down on his groin. It was her turn to moan as he aided her motion and guided her with his hands still holding her at the waist. It was a high-pitched wanton sound that made them both freeze.

“Did I just make that noise?” she asked, as she rested her forehead against his.

“Yeah, I think so,” Wesley panted as he looked up into her eyes. “Did you feel something, or was it a programmed response?” he asked bashfully.

“I do not know. Touch me again,” she requested without hesitation.

“You’re sure?” Consent was important if he was going to do what she suggested. 

Lal nodded and bit her lip. It was all the permission he needed. Wesley boldly moved a shaky hand from her lower back and placed it between her legs. He very carefully caressed two of his fingers against her fleshy mound and watched her face as she seem to analyze what he was doing. Then she pressed down on his hand and threw her head back. 

“That is so...so...good,” she moaned.

Wesley’s breath caught and he could feel the blood rush away from his brain. He couldn’t help the thrust of his hips when she spoke, her voice full of need. She wanted more and he was going to lose his mind if he didn’t give it her.

“I want you,” he said longingly. 

Lal moved off of him and started to remove her leggings and underwear from beneath her long skirt. Wesley took this as his cue to pull down his grey uniform trousers. This time when they reconnected they were kneeling in the floor. After another very satisfying kiss Lal pulled him down to lay over her with her legs spread wide, eagerly inviting him in.

For probably the first time in his life, Wesley didn’t overthink his actions. He trusted his body to know what it wanted and felt somehow safe and comforted that it was Lal he was sharing this moment with. He made a silent prayer that she wouldn’t crash as he entered her core. The guttural groan of pleasure that escaped his throat was almost as overwhelming as the sensation that surged through his body. It took him several seconds to refocus and start to move. 

It was reassuring that Lal, as an android, most likely didn’t suffer any physical discomfort from the act itself. But when she didn’t make the same pleasurable sounds that he was currently making he stopped and gently kissed her lips.

“What’s wrong? Am I hurting you?” he asked unsure of why she was so quiet.

A tear rolled sideways down her cheek to the carpet. “No Wesley. I am very happy,” she told him. And she was. She hadn’t been sure that this was what she needed until it was actually happening.

“But does it feel good?” he wondered aloud as he tried to read her expression.

“It is...it is good,” she said plainly.

Dissatisfied with her answer Wesley tried touching her again with his fingers. She moaned and arched her back. He grinned smugly and asked, “Feel good?”

Lal couldn’t form words at the moment but managed to nod. She was trying to keep up with all the sensory information flooding her matrix; not to mention the swirl of positive emotion that came from being so intimate with him.

Wesley tried to continued his manipulations, but the way her body tensed around him made him come unexpectedly. He wasn’t that surprised, he was frankly more surprised that he had lasted for as long as he had.

He collapsed on top of her, making sure to rest his head next to hers. She turned towards him and kissed the tip of his nose.

“You okay? You’re not broken?” he murmured as he studied her flushed features. He loved how she looked with her messed up hair, rosy cheeks and slightly bruised lips.

“I am functioning at higher than normal capacity,” she replied as she smiled brightly. “I would very much like to do more of this sometime soon.” Not only did she mean it, but she was quickly creating new subroutines and filing away what worked best and what he seemed to respond to more.

“Lal, I’m sorry I was such an idiot,” he said as he brushed a lock of her hair off of her face.

“You were afraid,” she said in response. “Perhaps I was a little afraid as well.”

“You’re so amazing. I don’t know if I feel like I deserve you,” he whispered.

“You do, Wesley. And I deserve you,” she told him with confidence. “We are well matched.”

Wesley smiled stupidly at her remark. He loved that she would say they were a good match. He was so insecure before, not wanting to believe that this beautiful synthetic girl would see him as anything more than a child. Her existence may be short so far, but her intelligence was far superior to his.

“Does this mean you still want to be my girlfriend?” he asked playfully as he sat up and pulled her with him.

“Only if you want to be my boyfriend,” she mused. Then she encircled her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

He returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “I want to be your everything,” he confessed before kissing her passionately.

Lal hummed her approval into his mouth. “I think I like that idea,” she said when they parted. 

The two love birds were lost in each other’s embrace when the main door suddenly opened and Data stopped dead in his stride as he spotted the two of them tangled up in each other on the floor. At first he thought they had fallen, but then noted their disheveled appearances. Luckily, Lal’s skirt was hiding most of Wesley’s nude lower half.

Lal sensed someone was behind her and turned her face up to greet them. “Hello Father,” she said like some kind of reflex.

“Hello Lal. What are you doing on the floor?” Data asked innocently as he regarded the pair. Then he must have figured it out for himself because he put up a hand to stop either of them from answering. “For modesty’s sake I will go to my workstation while you dress yourselves. Then we are going to have a very long discussion about this.”

As he walked away Lal turned back to Wesley. She had never seen him so pale.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed this part. I you all did as well. Also please let me know of this is too much for a mature rating. Thanks!


	10. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as the title says.

Wesley was sure that he was going to be sick. The only thing stopping him was Data’s steady immobilizing glare. He could barely blink, or breath, let alone vomit if he needed to. He hated that they’d been caught out after one of the most important moments in his life; perhaps the most important. The boy hung his head in shame as the three of them—himself, Lal and Data—sat in silence.

When the exterior door swished open and closed Wesley wanted to die. He could hear his mother’s footfalls and knew his life was over.

“Sorry for my tardiness. I just came from breaking up a make-out party in my son’s quarters. I felt like maybe that was more pressing,” Beverly said as she came to stand behind Wesley. She placed one of her hands on each of his shoulders and pressed her nails into the fabric of his tunic ever so slightly. “You know, since it was already too late to stop these two from fornicating.”

Wesley cursed internally at his mother’s choice of phrasing and he could feel the bile churn in his stomach.

“Wesley, are you ill?” asked Lal as she gave him a once over. “You appear to have gone quite pale.”

“Don’t worry about Wes,” Beverly told the girl. “He’s just feeling the gravity of his bad behaviour. I’m truly sorry that you were the victim of misplaced trust.”

Data gave the woman an odd look. “You assume that your son premeditated a plan to have intercourse with my daughter, Doctor?”

“He’s a teenaged boy, Data. It’s not completely his fault, but he knows better than to lure an innocent girl away from a party to have his way with her,” she said in response.

Yeah, Wesley was done for. Hearing two adults discuss him like he wasn’t even in the room was awful enough, but every time his mother spoke she dug her nails deeper into his shoulders. If he didn’t die from embarrassment he was sure she was going to murder him once they were alone.

“I do not understand. Wesley did not lure me anywhere; in a way, I led him,” Lal said with insistence. “Is it customary to have a discussion with one’s parents after a first sexual experience?” she asked after a moment.

“Not always, but you aren’t just any young person, Lal. You’re very special,” Beverly clarified kindly. She did not believe for one second that this naive girl was the instigator.

“Wesley is also very special,” offered Lal as she took the boy’s hand. The affectionate gesture did make him feel a little better. 

“We had not yet discussed your sexuality programming, Lal,” said Data with disappointment lacing his words. “May I ask what prompted you to spontaneously proceed unprepared with such an important life event?” 

And the moment was over. It was back to feeling like a dirty pervert.

“I believe that I have bonded with Wesley, Father. It happened quite naturally,” she told him.

“I bet it did,” said Beverly sarcastically.

“Can I say one thing in my defence?” pleaded Wesley.

“No.” “Yes” said both his mother and Data at the same time.

Data raised his eyebrows at his colleague. “You do not wish to give your son a chance to explain himself?”

“Fine, go ahead,” the doctor said with reluctance.

“In case you haven’t realized this was my first time too,” Wesley said, mostly to his mother; his cheeks burning with the humiliation of admitting it. “I really care about Lal. It meant a lot and you’re ruining it.”

Beverly hit her son in the back of the head. “You could have killed her, Wes! She already went into cascade failure once! What the hell were you thinking? I’ll tell you what you were thinking! That you would have an easier time messing around with Lal than figuring out one of those girls you’re always hanging around with. Speaking of which...you’re grounded! No more hanging out with Eric and Paul. And you’re moving back in with me—end of story!”

“Wesley, why is your mother so angry?” Lal whispered when the woman finished ranting. “I gave myself freely and I am fine.”

Wesley didn’t answer her. He just stared at the surface of Data’s workstation and hoped it would all be over soon.

“Beverly,” said Data, his tone quiet in hopes of calming her down. “I tend to side with your son. He is not a bad person. He proved quite responsible for himself and his conduct while you were away last year. He has also proven himself to be essential in Lal’s social development. It was simply unfortunate timing that I walked in on them. Could you consider for a moment that if they had come to us and explained their relationship, like adults, that you would not feel so vindictive?”

The red haired woman stared at the android with her mouth gaping. “Vindictive?” she repeated. 

“Lal consented to the act and Wesley just admitted that this was his first sexual encounter as well. I believe that says much about his character,” Data continued. He was beginning to rethink his decision to involve her so soon. “He may not require such a severe reprimand.”

“And you believe him?” she scoffed.

“He is your son. The more important question is why do you not believe him?” Data countered.

Beverly released her ever tightening hold on Wesley’s shoulders. She took a step back and reconsidered why she was so angry. Maybe it was the humiliation of finding all those unchaperoned teens in her son’s quarters, or maybe it was how alienated she felt from him now. Sometimes she felt as though they were strangers. She could tell that Data was trying to be diplomatic and see the problem from all angles. He was very good at rational thinking and seeing things from other people’s viewpoints even if they were unfamiliar to him.

“Fine,” she conceded at last. “Maybe I could back off...a little.”

“Thank you,” said Lal politely as Wesley gave his mother a hopeful look.

“But you are still grounded, young man. That means your life consists of classroom, homework and limited duty shifts. And if Data says you can still help with Lal you are never to be alone and unsupervised when you’re with her,” she said, explaining her new terms.

“That is acceptable,” Data concurred. “It would be detrimental to Lal’s wellbeing to separate her from her bonded companion.”

Wesley both loved and hated that term. He wondered if that was the term that he and Geordi used. He looked over at his mother to see how she would react to it.

“You know what...that’s a good point. If Wesley intends to be Lal’s companion then he should know what that’s like,” she said with a wicked sort of grin. 

“You think spending all my free time with her will make me see what bad idea this is, but you’re wrong,” Wesley told her. “I’ve already spent a lot of time with her and I think she’s wonderful; even when we aren’t getting along.”

“Supervised visitation, Wes. I’m not changing my mind,” Beverly grumbled at her son’s sudden happy demeanour. “God, why did you have to have sex with her? Why couldn’t Data have caught you kissing?”

“We had been kissing,” noted Lal as she looked from Wesley to Beverly. “It was a very essential part of our encounter.”

Wesley reached over and covered the girl’s mouth to keep her from saying anything further that might stir up his mother’s wrath again. Lal gave him a piteous look before discretely kissing his palm, taking advantage of their contact.

“Supervised time together,” Wesley agreed as he removed his hand and suppressed a grin inspired by the android girl’s cuteness.

“Good, then we all agree,” Data stated as he stood. “Lal, it is nearly time for you to return the lab. I think it would be prudent for you to bathe yourself.”

Lal looked down at her lap, not in shame, but because that was where she was soiled. Then she looked up at her father and nodded. “Yes, Father.”

Wesley’s stomach dropped. Any happiness he had regained was gone in an instant. He could feel his mother’s glare, it was so intense that he swore it could pierce the back of his skull.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a bit short, but I felt it should stand alone for effect. Is there a double standard for boys? Why is it always their fault? Well, Lal is obviously too young to know any better, right? Thanks for reading ;)


	11. Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guinan lends a hand and an unexpected guest makes an appearance. Uh oh.

Lal was staring off at the stars as she slowly wiped down the bar in Ten Forward. With her mind elsewhere, she wiped the same spot over and over again. Guinan’s noticed the girl’s abnormal repetitive motion and grew concerned that there was something wrong with her.

“Something on your mind?” Guinan prodded softly as she came to stand beside the girl.

“I was looking at the stars, Guinan. I have noticed that Wesley likes to look at the stars,” she replied quietly, almost melancholy in her tone, as she continued to move the cloth in circles.

“I think that bit is clean, Lal,” said the bartender before removing the cloth from her hand. “Did you and Wesley have a disagreement?” She was reluctant to say ‘fight’ since it was unlikely the android would qualify any argument as a fight.

“My apologies. I am not doing a good job today,” said Lal while she thought about Guinan’s question. “It was not a disagreement between Wesley and myself. Doctor Crusher is very upset and does not want her son to spend time with me at the moment.”

“Really? That doesn’t seem fair. What did he do?”

“He...we...I think this is not something that I should speak about in public,” Lal said vaguely as she looked around her with worry.

“Oh, I see,” Guinan said knowingly. “He likes you, doesn’t he? Wesley wants to be more than friends?”

“Yes, how did you know?” she asked with mild surprise.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you and—quite honestly—I’ve seen you look at him the same way from time to time,” Guinan told her.

“Well, his mother does not approve of our...union,” Lal added in hushed tones.

Guinan considered the girl’s strange choice of terminology. Unions usually implied something profound like a marriage. She decided to get more information. “What do you mean by union, Lal? You two are just kids. Do you mean that you want to be a couple? What harm could come from dating?” 

“Doctor Crusher and my father believe that it is dangerous if I become overwhelmed again. I suppose that they are not wrong, but Wesley was very considerate and made sure that I did not suffer any ill-effects when we, as you said, coupled.”

The woman’s eyes went wide and she casually adjusted her hat to distract from her shock. “You mean that you...’coupled’ coupled?” Guinan asked with disbelief. She made a gesture with her hands, bringing them together to clasp one another.

“Yes,” Lal confessed, though she was beginning to doubt that this discussion was appropriate. She wanted to believe that she could trust Guinan, but most adults were proving to side against her on this matter.

“And...you wanted to...couple?” Guinan inquired. Lal nodded and blushed. “And you’re fine now?” Lal nodded again. “And Beverley wants you to stay away from one another.” The last bit wasn’t a question. Guinan was finally getting the whole picture. 

“Except when we can be supervised,” Lal informed her. “Which is proving difficult.”

As if on cue, Wesley walked into the lounge and came over to where the two women were chatting. In one fluid motion he picked up Lal’s hand, brought it his lips and kissed the back of it.

“I thought I’d take a chance and see if you were here. I’m just on a quick study break,” Wesley told his girlfriend as she blushed. “Hey, Guinan.”

“Hey, Wes. Lal here was just filling me in on your very unfortunate dilemma,” Guinan told him with an auspicious look.

“Oh,” he said simply. The smile quickly fell from his face and he dropped the girl’s hand.

“You know, I have a refrigeration unit in the back that is making a weird sound,” Guinan said casually. “You’re good with that sort of thing. You wouldn’t mind having a look at it would you, Wes?”

Wesley was obviously confused by her request. “Um, I think it might be better to ask someone from maintenance to come look at it. It’s just that I don’t have any tech with me. I would need a scanner at the very least.”

“Yeah, but you’re here now...and it’s close by...on the other side of the bar.” Guinan was speaking in a strange way and nodding towards the back. Wesley wasn’t yet catching on to her game. “You know, where it’s quiet and private...in the back.”

Something clicked in the teen boy’s brain and he deciphered her message. “Oh, sure! I can have a look,” he said brightening up again. He forgot that Guinan was usually someone whom he could count on. 

Wesley eagerly came around the end of the bar and dodged a server as he followed Guinan to another room past the food prep station. When they turned back they realized too late that Lal wasn’t in on their plot and had stayed up front.

“Hang on,” sighed Guinan. “I’ll go get the refrigeration unit.”

A moment later Guinan reappeared guiding the android girl over to the human boy. “See if you can fix her, would ya?” she mused before she left them alone.

“I do not understand, Wesley. I know very little about the maintenance and repair of appliances,” said Lal bluntly.

Wesley chuckled at her innocence and leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. Lal pulled away, suddenly unsure if they were going to get in trouble. He could tell that she was worried so he spelled it out for her. 

“There’s nothing to fix. Guinan was trying to help us get alone together,” he explained.

“She wanted us to be alone?” Lal asked still unsure.

“Guinan loves love,” he said before kissing her again. 

Then they were both lost in the moment and enjoying the well-missed contact. Lal had him backed into a corner, but he didn’t care. Wesley indulged in the softness of her hair, and the warmth of her skin and the way she pressed against him, always careful not to crush him.

When they parted, so he could catch his breath, Lal was running her hands up and down his arms. “I think that maybe I love you too,” she whispered.

Wesley was startled by her use of the words ‘love’ and ‘too’. He knew that he was hopped up on hormones and happiness, but he was sure that he hadn’t made any confessions of love. That was when he realized that maybe he had when he made his offhanded comment about Guinan loving love. Such a statement would imply that she was helping them because they were in love and therefore because he had said it first she was reciprocating.

“Really? Because I do...I love you, Lal,” he said in response. He figured he might as well take the plunge. Besides hearing her, a supposedly emotionally incapable person, confess to something so profound moved him.

“I do not want to be separated from you for so long anymore,” she said as she laced her fingers into his hair.

“Me neither,” he muttered as pressed his hands on her back and brought her in closer. 

Then they were kissing again. They must have been tangled up in one another for some time and they didn’t hear Guinan approach and clear her throat. 

“Ah-hem!” She did it two more times before they broke away from each other and looked over at her. 

Guinan was beginning to have serious doubts about her decision to help them. She wasn’t surprised by Wesley’s flustered state with his hands firmly tilting the girl’s head to the most optimum position. Lal, however, was a bit of an eye-opener. The girl had one hand in the boy’s hair and the other was somewhere hidden under his shirt. She really wasn’t expecting the android to be the groper.

“I think that’s enough ‘alone time’ for today. You two lovebirds need to check yourselves before going back out. This is a public place.”

“Good advice,” commented Wesley as he combed his fingers through Lal’s hair to try and neaten it up. 

Lal seemed to mimic him as she did the same for his hair. “Do you think perhaps we could do this again later?” she asked continued to groom him.

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea,” he confessed as he straightened his shirt and checked that his trousers were laying right. Things had gotten quite heated and he wanted to be sure that he was presentable. “People might talk.”

“I understand,” she said as she did the same and smoothed her skirt.

Wesley didn’t like how disappointed she looked. He decided to hold her hand as walked back out to the front of the bar. Lal must have been feeling bold because she lifted herself up on the balls of her feet and gave him one last kiss. To her being in public must have meant that they weren’t alone, or unsupervised. Unfortunately for them she didn’t observe the room before proceeding.

“How could you!?” Came the angry cry filled with disgust. The pair turned to see Annette’s enraged face just before she took off in a huff.

“Oh dear,” whispered Lal.

Wesley ran off after Annette. Normally he wouldn’t care what she thought of him or his relationship, but something about her reaction was troubling. It was as though she was still under the assumption that he was hers.

He didn’t have to go far, which was good because running in the corridors was generally frowned upon. Wesley stopped just short of confronting her, his head suddenly swimming. 

The girl was talking with Counsellor Troi, but it wasn’t the empath that had him so unnerved. It was the tall, dark haired man beside her that made his blood run cold.

“Annie, what’s the matter?” asked Deanna. The girl had practically collided with her and the angst rolling off of her was impossible to miss. “What happened?”

“It’s that Lal...she’s horrible,” said Annette.

“Lal?” Deanna repeated, giving her guest a wary side-glance. “I’m sure whatever she did it was a misunderstanding of some kind.” 

“No, she was most definitely making-out with Wesley Crusher,” she explained in the verge of tears. “She’s a selfish, manipulative bitch! She knew I liked him and she pretended to be all naive and sweet just so she could steal him away! This isn’t the first time she’s seduced a boy either!”

“Now, Annette, I’m sure that’s not really what happened.” Deanna was becoming more and more aware of what bad timing it was to have this girl air her concerns. “Look, why don’t we meet in my office later and discuss this further?”

“Manipulative, you say?” inquired the dark haired man with interest. “You believe her to be deceitful and seductive?”

“Doctor Maddox, Annette Jenkins is seventeen. Although the distress she is feeling is valid, it is far from an objective viewpoint,” Deanna told him.

“How many colonists had to suffer before their opinions on Lore were taken seriously? Oh right...all of them,” he snarked coldly.

“Excuse me?” the Counsellor snapped back, losing her even temper. “I thought you came here to consult with Data and evaluate his daughter with an open mind?”

“An open mind infers being open to any and all points of view, does it not?” the man countered with a smirk. “If this young lady claims that Lal is capable of lies and subversive behaviour her words should not be dismissed as a petty complaint, but a valid concern.”

“You can’t be insinuating that because of Lal’s emotional capability she can possibly be compared with Lore. An android you’ve never actually met, if I might add.”

“You didn’t know him either, if I’m not mistaken.”

Annette looked a little lost as she listened to the two officers’ discussion. “You mean there was another android, like Data?”

Wesley finally refocused as the adults mentioned Lore; a name that would most certainly always be sobering. He rushed past the trio and firmly grabbed Annette’s arm, taking her with him.

“How strange,” commented Maddox as he watched them run off. “Are the youths on this ship always so out of control?”

Deanna frowned and pinched her fingers to the bridge of her nose. She was already regretting her decision to volunteer as Maddox’s escort. She knew he was a stubborn, head-strong individual. This new development was going to make his visit very difficult to be sure.

“Why don’t we go find Lt. Comdr Data?” she suggested after regaining composure.

......


	12. Misconceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley tries to get Annie to see reason. Maddox was a chat with Lal.

Wesley finally let go of his friend’s arm when they were safely in the turbolift. He stalled it mid-destination so they could talk. Annette yanked herself free and backed up against the curved wall.

“What is your problem?” she demanded.

Wesley groaned in frustration before addressing her. “Look, Annie, I was going to tell you. I’m sorry you had to find out like that. Truly.”

She softened her expression and came closer again. “Wes, it’s not your fault. I know you’re different from other boys. You saw a girl where everyone else saw a machine, but I forgive you.”

He blinked back his astonishment at how close-minded she was being. It seemed like she really believed Lal had seduced him. The very idea that they could genuinely be in love was lost on on her.

“Don’t you see? Lal is a person. She’s an individual like you and me,” he said in the android’s defence. “I’m with her because I want to be; because we want to be together.”

“I don’t understand,” she replied rigidly. “One little experiment is fine, but you can’t possibly see yourself with her. Dating would be awkward to say the least. What kind of dates do you have with a machine? She doesn’t eat, she can absorb information faster than anyone so movies and trips to the holodeck are a waste of time, and kissing her will become like some automated program or something.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said defensively.

“Well I do know that you’re projecting some sort of romantic fantasy on her. She’s only a couple months old. What you’re doing is sick.”

Wesley’s stomach twisted up as he listened to her accusations. Was no one going to understand? Did no one see Lal as he did? And now Maddox was here. All that man needed was one good excuse to remove her from Data’s care. It would be Admiral Haftel all over again. Why couldn’t these greedy cyberneticists back off once and for all.

“I love her,” he muttered when he found there was nothing else he could say. 

“You what?” she threw back, offended.

“It’s not a fantasy,” he said with more confidence. “I see her for who and what she is and I love her.”

“Then I feel sorry for you, Wesley Crusher,” she said with pity. “This is wrong and somewhere deep down, you know it too.”

He held back from commenting further and when Annette called the lift to resume he let her. There was nothing more to say.

.....

Lal arrived home to find her father entertaining two visitors. One was Deanna Troi and the other was Bruce Maddox. She recognized him from her father’s correspondence, though she was curious to see him there in the flesh.

“Good, you are here,” began her father. “Lal, I would like you to meet Dr. Bruce Maddox. Dr. Maddox, this is my daughter, Lal.”

Although formal, Data’s introductions sounded easy and casual. Her father didn’t appear to be alarmed, or concerned by the man’s sudden arrival. Of course he was an unemotional being, so his demeanour was not always a reliable clue.

“Hello, Dr. Maddox,” said Lal politely as she extended a hand to their guest.

Then man stood and took her hand in his, only instead of shaking it he held onto it and stared at her in amazement.

“Extraordinary,” he breathed. “She is so...so human.”

“Thank you?” Lal said it more as a question than a statement of gratitude. She was confused by his reaction.

“Lal, has come a long way under Data’s tutelage in just a few short months,” offered Deanna. “He’s been very patient and has taught her everything about day to day life and how to integrate with organic life forms.”

“Thank you, Counsellor,” Data said at the compliment.

It wasn’t clear if the scientist was listening to anything Deanna was saying. He continued to fixate so completely on Lal.

“I’m curious to know, are her interactions with that boy part of her learning plan?” asked Maddox.

Data opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again without making a sound. He was taken aback by the question and was not sure how Maddox would know about his daughter’s relationship so quickly.

“No, sir,” said Lal. “Wesley is my boyfriend. Our relationship is not technically part of my studies, though I am learning much from it.”

This put an unsettling grin on the man’s face. “What sort of things have you learned so far, if I might ask?” pressed Maddox.

“I have learned that communication is key in any relationship. That sometimes emotions will prohibit a person from fully expressing what it is they desire out of fear of rejection, or being seen as foolish.”

“Really?” Deanna couldn’t help her keen interest.

“Yes. I have observed, in our short time together, that Wesley often self-censors himself due to his perceived expectations that other may have of him,” Lal elaborated. 

“Really?” said Deanna again, earning her a look from Data.

“Yes. I have observed the same tendency with my father when he interacts with Geordi in public arenas.”

“Oh, how so?” asked Maddox with a glance at the golden android.

“When they are in private they are much more openly intimate,” she explained, “however in public, despite Geordi’s affectionate nature, Father is quite reserved and professional.”

“Really, Data?” Maddox teased as he stared at the android in question. “You’re involved with the Chief Engineer? Did I miss that in your latest correspondence, or was I not meant to know this little nugget of intrigue?”

Data cleared his throat, a very human and unnecessary behaviour. “We are slowly establishing our new dynamic. We were keeping it fairly private.”

Lal noted her misstep and felt the need to apologize. “I am so sorry, Father. I did not know this. First Annie and now you. I am making so many social mistakes today.”

“What happened with Annie wasn’t your fault, I’m sure,” Deanna reassured her.

“What happened with Annie?” Data needed to keep up.

“The girl was upset,” explained Maddox. “She believed your Lal had seduced the boy she liked for no other purpose but because she could —To be spiteful. But I can see now, after meeting your daughter that can’t possibly be true. She’s so much like you. Respectable and honest.” He smiled kindly and patted the girl’s hand. “You really like that boy, don’t you?”

Lal nodded and smiled warmly at the man. She was feeling less and less threatened by his presence. “Yes, sir. I love him.”

“I’m sorry. Did you just say ‘love’?” Maddox asked. She was full of surprises.

“Yes, I love him. Though it is a little different from how I love my father, or Deanna,” she told him.

“You were right, Counsellor Troi,” the scientist said with an odd expression crossing his pale face. “She is nothing like Lore.”

“Lore? You were concerned that Lal could be like Lore?” inquired Data. That certainly got his attention.

“You stated in your latest report that despite your best efforts to correct the errors causing her cascade failure, Lal was still emotionally capable to some extent,” he elaborated. “Haven’t you had the same concern?”

“Not at all,” replied Data frankly. “It is a question of nature versus nurture, the latter of which my brother received very little. I believe Lore’s downfall was due to how our creator treated him; like a failed experiment. Lal is and always will be my daughter. She is no more an experiment than is my role as Second Officer on this ship. Both are very real and taken very seriously.”

“Good. Glad to hear it. I will put that in my report. As well as a statement that it is my belief that she should remain indefinitely in your care despite what Starfleet might decide in the future. Don’t worry, Lal. I’ll leave out the part about how involved your little romance is with the teenaged boy,” Maddox concluded with a wink at the android girl. “Not everyone will understand how an advanced intelligence like yours could become so preoccupied by simple physical affections.”

“No one said anything about their relationship being physical,” Data retorted.

“The other girl used the term ‘seduced’. I can only imagine that involved a physical component perhaps beyond handholding and innocent stolen kisses.” Lal blushed and looked away at Maddox’s assumptions. “As I thought. Tell me, just between us...what do you make of sex?”

Deanna was about to protest when Data put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Let her answer.”

Lal became shy for a moment before responding, “I can only comment from my one experience, however...” she paused as she looked at her father for a moment. “However, for me, it was the very definition of the joining two people together.”

“You mean in the literal sense?” Maddox scoffed, disappointed by her answer.

“Oh, no. I meant in the spiritual sense,” she said adamantly. “There was a brief moment where I was sure that we had become the same being; I felt very content and very human.”

Deanna put a hand over her mouth. It was true that Beverly had come to her almost straight away after discovering her son’s promiscuous activities, but this was the first time she was hearing from either youth themselves. It was both beautiful and frightening to hear her compare her experience to something so profound.

“Does Data...does he encourage you to seek religious, or spiritual knowledge?” asked Maddox, somewhat lost for words.

“Not really, no,” she confided. “Should that matter?”

“How would you know that was what you experienced if you had no frame of reference?” the man added.

Data had to admit that he was curious himself. He had waited his whole existence for such an epiphany.

“I do not know...I only know that is how it was,” she said, perhaps less confident than before.

Deanna didn’t want their conversation to belittle her experience. She wanted Lal to feel safe and heard; not to doubt that what she felt was any less real because it was unique to her.

“Then that’s how it was,” concluded the empath with knowing smile.

Lal smiled in return. 

......


	13. The Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley faces his friends and Geordi. Things aren’t that bad all things considered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I re-wrote and rearranged this part of the story the most. It’s one of those necessary interludes before the final hurrah. Please enjoy :)

It was a couple of days before Wesley had class again. He sat in his regular seat, anxiously dreading what his classmates would say to him. Being grounded meant he hadn’t seen any of his friends since he abandoned them in his quarters. Except of course for Annette.

The beautiful blond gave him the cold shoulder as she passed his desk, which was more or less to be expected. The fact that he had kissed two girls so close together was unthinkable. Stranger still was that he was no longer a virgin. As this thought occurred to him, Wesley worried that maybe Annette heard about that too somehow. They’d only addressed the kiss she had witnessed. He hoped that she had no idea about the rest.

Wesley was starting to spiral with anxiety when Eric entered the classroom and gave him a crooked smile. Shelley was close behind her boyfriend and gave him a similar grin. The couple flanked their friend unexpectedly and Wesley could feel himself start to sweat in anticipation of being found out.

“Heya, Wes. You never came back to watch the movie,” said Eric as he continued to smile slyly. “Shelley says you and Lal worked things out,” he added after a beat with a suggestive wag of his eye brows.

Wesley’s face went pale and then bright red. He hadn’t considered that Shelley and Lal were real friends now and she might confide in the girl. 

“What exactly did Lal tell you, Shelley?”

“Only that the two of you are really close now, you know, like me and Eric are close,” said the brunette as she leaned in closer. “At first I thought she was being naive again, but then she told me a little more and I gotta say I had no idea you could be so impulsive.”

“So you know...about everything?” Wesley asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Oh yeah,” she replied, her cheeks flushing slightly.

“You didn’t tell Annie, did you?” he questioned with distress.

“Heavens no,” Shelley told him as she discretely looked over at her friend. “I’m happy for Lal. I don’t want her to get beat down by Annie’s jealousy. I mean, she had all year to reciprocate your crush. Can you imagine how pissed she would be to know she played hard to get for too long?”

Yeah, Wesley could imagine. After her outburst in Ten Forward he had a fairly good idea of what to expect. “Thank you, I appreciate it. I’m sure everyone will know that we’re together soon enough. I just don’t want to do it too soon,” Wesley explained.

“Should have thought about that before you ‘did it’ then,” joked Eric suggestively as he patted him on the shoulder.

“Eric, please keep it down,” Wesley begged his buddy. Then he tried to redirect their conversation. “I hope my mom didn’t rat on you to your parents. I wanted to ask her, but I guess she’s pretty mad at me right now.”

“Oh no, man. Your mom is cool. She didn’t say anything,” Eric told him before looking over at his girlfriend again. “And don’t worry, me and Shell are cool too. We won’t go blabbing your business to anyone.”

“Thanks. And I’m glad that my mom didn’t over-react,” Wesley said with some relief. He only wished that his mother was as understanding with him as she had been with his friends. But he knew that she expected nothing but excellence when it came to her own child and in her eyes he had truly fallen from grace.

“Yeah, Wes, I’d still watch my back if I were you,” warned Shelley.

“Got it. Hey, you guys don’t think it’s weird that I’m with Lal, do you?” Wesley asked still unsure of himself. “I know she’s inexperienced and needs extra care, but she really is a fairly normal person.”

“I bet she needs ‘extra care’,” teased Scooter as he passed between the desks. Then he gave them a wink as though to impress his double meaning.

“Shut up, Paul,” said Eric. “Wes isn’t like that. We all know he’s perfect.” 

“And a virgin, no doubt,” snarked Shelley convincingly. 

Annette rolled her eyes at the very notion and there were a few barks laughter from some of the other students in the room. Although he appreciated that his friends were covering for him, Wesley couldn’t help but feel as though they were taking things a little too far.

“Great...now I’m a joke,” sighed Wesley as he turned towards the front of the room.

“It’s just for now, man,” Eric said supportively. “Don’t want to damage Lal’s fragile rep and all.”

“Yeah, we like her and we don’t think it’s weird,” added Shelley.

Before Wesley could relay his gratitude, Annette caught his eye. She was walking over with a dangerous look in her eyes.

“No robot girl today, Wes?” asked Annette sardonically as she leaned on his desk. “Do you think she had to ask her father a myriad of questions about what she saw in your quarters? Poor thing.”

“Leave it alone, Annette. It’s not her fault that she’s so literal,” said Eric. Wesley knew that he was trying to come to Lal’s defence, but he wasn’t sure that he was helping matters.

“Oh please, she probably ran off before her head exploded trying to understand human lust,” the blond girl added unapologetically.

“Don’t say shit like that, Annie. You know that literally almost happened,” warned Shelley, suddenly the unexpected voice of concern. 

Annette seemed undeterred and she leaned down further, coming too close for comfort. “You should be careful, Wes,” she whispered in his ear. “It would be a terrible waste if she accidentally maimed you when you try to fuck her. Maybe you should keep it in your pants.”

With that she was gone. On the bright side of things she had no idea that they had already done the deed. Wesley was beginning to think he liked his life better when the kids his age barely spoke to him and he didn’t have so many social hurdles to navigate.

......

Wesley’s feeling of dread followed him around for rest of the day. His little raincloud persisted even after hearing the good news that Bruce Maddox was on his way and not taking Lal with him. This was good news, but Wesley hadn’t seen his girlfriend for more than twenty minutes at most since their encounter in TenForward and it wasn’t helping his mood. 

He was working in engineering that afternoon. Every time he starting lagging in productivity he caught sight of Geordi over his shoulder. So he would work twice as hard, not only to prove that he deserved to be there, but that he could rise above his punishment.

When his shift was winding down he chatted for a moment with Ensign Sonya Gomez. She was easy going and a refreshing change from his adolescent friends. Plus her excitement over the simplest things in engineering made him feel like less of an oddity. 

“Ensign Gomez, do you mind if I borrow Mr. Crusher for a moment?” asked a Geordi as he came to stand just behind them.

“Not at all,” she answered promptly. “See you later, Wes.”

“See you, Sonya,” Wesley said in return, although by the way his chief was looking at him he wasn’t sure if he would.

Geordi led him into his office and invited him to have a seat. Wesley took a steadying breath and tried to remain calm. He wondered if his mother had something to do with this, or if his performance had really been so bad.

“I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed in you, Wesley,” Geordi began. 

“Here we go,” thought Wesley as he felt his mouth go dry and his palms start to sweat.

“I mean, I know I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to relationships, but I think I know a thing or two about figuring things out with an android,” he continued.

Wesley narrowed his eyes at his superior. He wasn’t sure if he had heard him correctly. “Wait, you’re upset that I didn’t talk to you about me and Lal?” he asked to be sure he was getting it right.

Geordi relaxed a little and smiled. “Yeah, a bit. I know it’s silly, but I just thought if you wanted to talk about it you would, but you’ve been very quiet these past few days.”

“Oh, well my situation kinda sucks. I can’t be around Lal unless someone else is there and everyone has very busy schedules,” explained Wesley relieved that this was a social issue and not a professional one. “I was helping Data with Lal a lot before and now she spends so much more time alone. It’s not fair.”

“Is she still taking that psych class with you?” Geordi asked with interest.

“No. I think she found it boring and some of the other students weren’t exactly welcoming,” he said flatly.

“Oh right. I heard about that Annette girl. Are your friends bothering you about your new relationship?”

“Not really. To be honest, most of them don’t know about it. The couple that do are being nice enough, I guess. Right now my social life is restricted because my mom grounded me and I just really miss Lal. I can’t wait until I’m eighteen and my mom won’t hold so much power over me.”

“I hear you,” Geordi said with sympathy. “You can’t be with your friends and you can’t be with your girlfriend. When I was growing up at least I always had my sister as back up against our parents.”

“I was waiting for the right time to talk about things with Data, but I think he might be avoiding me, if that’s possible.”

Geordi gave it some thought. He honestly felt as though maybe Data was avoiding him as well. He would have liked to have been included in some of his decisions involving Lal, but somehow it was almost impossible to talk to him about it.

“I suppose he could be. I think Data wants to trust you, but he has the same concerns about Lal that we all have. Your intensions are honourable, I assume?”

“Completely, Geordi,” Wesley answered without a second thought. “I really care about her and I understand that taking things slow is probably for the best.” 

The older man smiled again before frowning. “If I had more time I would help you out and chaperone, but I’m swamped right now with the new shield alignments and everything.”

“I know...everyone is busy,” Wesley pouted.

“I have an idea, though you might not like it,” the engineer said with some skepticism.

“Anything, Geordi. I’m starting to go stir crazy,” the teen told him.

Geordi came around his desk to get closer. He leaned against it and lowered his voice. “How would you feel about a nanny-cam?”

“A what?” Wesley blurted with obvious confusion.

“I could help Data set up surveillance cameras around his quarters and then you could be with Lal anytime; either Data or your mom could check in on you,” he suggested.

It was the dumbest thing Wesley had ever heard. But they had tried to convince their parents that if Lal was directly instructed not to have sex that her ethical programming would prohibit her from doing so. Unfortunately, not even Data was sold on that idea.

“I don’t know. That seems rather intrusive. I just wish that they would understand that their interference is actually more harmful than anything we could do when we’re alone together. I mean, Lal was fine and she felt a lot of new things; emotionally and physically.”

Geordi knew that he should feel uncomfortable about discussing such matters with a minor, but Wesley was his friend and he always found him to be mature for his age. Plus it was nice to talk to someone else who knew about the specialness of sharing a life with an android partner.

“I agree with you on that. That’s why this would solve most of your problems. They probably won’t even check in on you all that often after you prove that you can keep your hands to yourself,” he explained thoughtfully.

“Alright. If Data and my mom agree to it, then I think I can manage,” Wesley said after a moment of consideration.

“Great. I think they will.”

“Thank you, Geordi. You were right. I should have come to you for advice.”

......


	14. Propositions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley gets spooked by Maddox and needs to see Lal.

Wesley kept his eyes on his study notes as he took a large bite of his dinner. Then, unexpectedly, the chime went on his door. With his brain full of quantum mechanics and his mouth full of pasta, he walked the short distance to the command pad and opened the door manually. The teen almost choked when he tried to swallow his food. 

“Dr. Maddox, I thought you left already,” Wesley managed to say after a few moments of coughing.

“Oh, good. You know who I am,” said Maddox before realizing that the young man was out of sorts. “Are you alright, Mr. Crusher? I didn’t mean to startle you,” the tall man said with concern as he waited to be invited inside.

“No, I’m fine. Please come in,” he replied as he moved aside. “Sorry for the mess. I was studying and haven’t had the time to straighten up.”

“I can see I’m interrupting your supper, so I won’t stay long,” said Maddox as he looked around the room with idle curiosity. It wasn’t all that disorderly. A few clothing items were strewn about the room and there was the odd plate left out from previous meals. 

“I was speaking with Lal again this afternoon,” the man continued, “and she made it painfully clear that despite the understanding that you and she are in a relationship, you rarely have the opportunity to share in one another’s company.”

The boy squinted up at his guest and made a face to convey his skepticism. “You’ve decided to remain on board longer than expected because of some chat you had with Lal?”

“Yes, she said that you two require someone to chaperone your dates,” Maddox told him as he sat himself in an armchair. For someone who wasn’t staying long he was certainly making himself at home.

“I’m sorry, are you volunteering or something?” Wesley asked plainly. 

What he really wanted to say was how completely absurd that sounded. A stranger who didn’t know him and barely knew Lal was wanting to observe one of their dates. To his mind that was creepy with a capital ‘creep’.

“For research, of course,” offered Maddox. Then the scientist gave the boy an awkward grin and seemed eager to make his point. “It would be very beneficial to see Lal interact with you. In theory, she sounds quite enamoured, but it’s difficult to imagine how she actually behaves when you’re together.”

‘Because you’ve never been on a date in your life,’ thought Wesley. Out loud he said, “I just don’t know if I’m comfortable.”

“We could set it up in the holodeck, perhaps. Create a one way mirror situation of sorts. You wouldn’t even know I was there,” he explained with more enthusiasm than necessary.

“Sorry, we would still know you were there, which means we wouldn’t exactly be natural,” Wesley countered with a frown. 

At least it seemed as though no one had told Maddox about Geordi’s surveillance idea. The man would most definitely be first in line to spy on them if he had.

Maddox was afraid he would be met with resistance. So he did his best to look nonchalant about it. “That’s alright, then. Think it over. I plan to stay a few more days. So you can come and find me if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, I will,” Wesley responded politely even though he wouldn’t.

When Maddox was gone, Wesley leaned with his back against the closed door and let out a long steadying breath.

His meal abandoned, Wesley walked quickly down the hall. He hoped that Lal was at home and not down in the lab already. Luckily, she answered the door.

“Wesley, I was not expecting you,” Lal said shyly as she blushed a little. “I am alone.”

“I know, I mean I didn’t know, but I need to talk to you,” Wesley rambled with an urgency that she couldn’t ignore.

“Five minutes,” the girl conceded as she let him in. 

Lal wanted to be sure that no one had seen him. So she looked down both ends of the hallway before closing and securing the door. She had learned her lesson about leaving the door unlocked. 

“I do not believe anyone saw you,” she announced as she joined her boyfriend.

“I don’t care. This is nuts. We’re not criminals. We can control ourselves for a few minutes,” Wesley ranted with the same sharpness as before. “Lal, Bruce Maddox came to my cabin just before and offered to chaperone one of our dates.”

“That is wonderful,” Lal said brightly. Then she read the seriousness of his face. “That is not wonderful?”

“No, it’s creepy and I don’t like some cyberneticist sticking his nose in and spying on us,” he explained.

“Oh, I understand. If it were someone we knew we could trust them to keep our interactions private, but we do not know Maddox well and cannot know what he will make of our intimacies,” she surmised after giving his concerns some thought.

“Exactly. Besides we won’t be natural if he’s with us. He might see our stress—well my stress—and misinterpret my intentions,” he added as he came close enough to touch her hair. 

Lal had hated it when Wesley had done the same to Annette, but adored it when he touched her so casually.

“What are your intentions, Mr Crusher?” she mused with a mischievous grin. 

She had been thinking about him since her first discussion with Maddox and now that she had a sliver of a chance to fool around she was going to take it. She wrapped her arms around his waist and playfully gave his butt a squeeze.

“Lal, we can’t,” Wesley reminded her as he smiled, despite himself. “We promised...” But the rest of his words were lost in her mouth as she quickly pulled him to her and kissed him deeply.

When she let him breathe again she gave him a mischievous smirk. “My inner chronometer says we still have three and a half minutes,” she murmured against his lips. 

Wesley decided to make the most of their time and directed her to the sofa. While continuing to kiss in quite a messy fashion, they almost fell over when their legs bumped the seat cushions. Lal giggled and wondered how someone so driven by excellence could also be so flawed and imperfect. 

Lal moved so deftly then that Wesley almost missed what she was up to. He was so distracted by what their mouths were doing, that by the time he realized what she was planning for their bodies, his brain had stopped forming coherent thoughts. 

With their clothes already adjusted, Lal eagerly straddled Wesley’s lap and took him inside of her in one fluid motion. It was a true revelation of android efficiency. Not that Wesley minded. Time was of the essence and he desperately held onto Lal’s hips as she rode him into ecstasy. 

Since Lal was the driving force, Wesley was free to lose himself in her desires. He had his head thrown back, pressed into the top of the sofa as he made the most obscene noises. This wasn’t like their first time. There was little consideration of anyone’s comfort, or consent. They already knew that they could trust each other; the risk of Lal plummeting into cascade failure was somehow forgotten.

Their flurry of passion ended in one final, explosive moment. They sat unmoving, Lal sitting over him with her forehead resting against his. She decided this was one of her favourite positions. As Wesley panted and lazily opened his eyes, Lal softly kissed his lips.

It was only afterwards, as he was coming back to reality, that Wesley noticed the pain radiating from his right hand. Lal saw the discomfort on his face when he hissed when flexing his fingers.

“You may have held on too tightly,” she whispered as she lifted herself off of him and checked her hip for bruising. It would take a lot to cause her synthetic flesh any damage, but it could be done. Sure enough, three finger notches and his thumb. They were like small impressions into her skin.

“I’m so sorry,” he said as he pulled her close and kissed over her injury. “Does it hurt?”

“Not at all,” she told him easily. “Do you need to go to sickbay?” she asked as she gently manipulated his hand to examine it.

“I don’t think so. I can’t believe I held on so hard that I did that...to both of us,” he confessed.

“It was so very satisfying, though,” she admitted with a very big grin. 

“You were so quiet,” he said as he touched her cheek, “I wasn’t sure if you were enjoying yourself.”

“How could you tell? You were so loud that I am certain the entire floor heard you,” she said with a giggle.

“Sorry,” he apologized again. 

“Do not be sorry,” she told him. “Causing you to make those sounds is one of the best and most pleasurable parts for me.”

“So, it was good? You’re happy?”

“Very and quite,” she replied.

“I promise one of these days we’re going to have a proper evening together. We can cuddle in bed and everything,” he said as he pulled her closer.

“I love you,” she hummed and kissed him.

“I love you too,” he said when they parted.

It was then that Wesley’s comm badge chirped, rudely interrupting their afterglow.

“Doctor Crusher to Wesley Crusher; aren’t you meant to be studying, young man?”

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath. He had to cover Lal’s mouth because she was laughing at him again. “Wesley here,” he replied curtly. “ I’m just on my way back to my quarters right now, Mom.”

“You had better be,” his mother grumbled. “Crusher out.”

“How did she know? Is she tracking your comm badge?” Lal wondered.

“Maybe? I hope not,” Wesley retorted. “Time to go.”

After refastening his pants he kissed her one last time. “How can I miss you already?”

“Because I am amazing,” she answered lightheartedly.

“Yeah, you are. You are truly amazing, Lal,” he said sincerely as he forced himself to let her go. “And I can’t believe you’re mine.”

She slapped his ass as he walked away from her, making them both laugh out loud.

.....

Meanwhile in Doctor Crusher’s office, Geordi was covering his mouth with both hands.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell Lal that we set up that camera this afternoon,” he muttered, his voice full of shame.

“I was going to tell her tonight when we were going through her nightly routine,” said Data, a touch of dismay in his usually even tone. “They have been on their best behaviour and the probability that we would catch them in a sexual act was almost improbable.”

“Clearly, you were wrong,” blurted Beverly in a display of anger.

“Clearly,” repeated the android.

“Look...don’t tell them at all,” Geordi interjected. “This was a mistake and if you tell them that we were spying on them when they were in the middle of doing what they were doing, neither one of them will trust any of us again.”

It had been like a terrible, horrific accident. None of them could look away. It was an innocent mistake. They were only meant to be testing out the clarity of the camera. But when Geordi activated the feed they were all mesmerized by what they were witnessing. 

Even more shocking was Lal’s choice to take the lead. Data was the most befuddled and it took him the longest amount of time to figure out what the couple was doing. The angle was pointed down and slightly off center of the main living space.

“Lal was laughing,” Data said after a moment. There was no audio, a saving grace, but it was impossible to miss.

“So?” Beverly could see that the girl was laughing. It felt like she was laughing at them.

“Our joint concern was that a sexual relationship this early in Lal’s development may become detrimental to her overall wellbeing,” the android reminded her.

The doctor still didn’t follow. “So?”

“So...Wesley isn’t harming her. He’s making her happy,” Geordi concluded on his partner’s behalf.

“Wait. That’s it? You’re just going to give up and let them carry on; let them get away with their deception?” she demanded.

“You do have a point. I will speak to my daughter about her unsettling tendencies toward satisfying her new found sexual desires,” affirmed Data thoughtfully. “This is something I have yet to experience myself. I am curious if it has a connection to her emotions.”

Geordi shifted uncomfortably and could feel his cheeks start to burn. It was true that sex was fairly new territory for them and he had accepted that Data would never be emotional about it, or laugh like Lal, but he really didn’t think Beverly needed to know the details of their love life.

Beverly hit her forehead with the palm of her hand in exasperation. “Data she lied about her promiscuity.”

“Doctor, when you were a teenaged girl were you completely honest with your parents about your sexual encounters?” Data pressed in an almost scolding fashion.

The woman went quiet; it was her turn to blush. “No, Data. You’ve made your point. We shouldn’t have been spying in the first place and I am honestly glad that Lal is okay.” Then she paused before voicing one last concern. “So you don’t mind Wesley messing around with her? At all?”

“As I stated previously, although it is early in her development I approve of her choice in mate. Wesley understands her needs both as a person and as an android. I trust him,” Data said plainly. “More than this, I know that you trust him, as does Geordi. We were all simply concerned with her neural net failing again, which it has not.”

Beverly looked to Geordi for reassurance and he gave her a nod. “Okay...if you don’t mind, I don’t mind,” she conceded.

There it was settled. No more ‘nanny-cam’ and no more chaperones.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another part that got reworked and edited a few times. I think I have it where I want it now ;) I couldn’t resist the that last bit. No one is to speak of it again. Ha!


	15. Epilogue—Happy Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all.

The next afternoon, Wesley was lying on a hilltop of lush green grass and white daisies. There was nothing but blue sky as far the eye could see. With the warm sun on his face he closed his eyes to daydream. He was thinking of all ways that he and Lal could sneak around the cameras in her quarters once they were installed—little did he know that one already was.

A smile crossed his lips as he thought about feigning a repair under Data’s workstation while Lal sat in the chair. He could duck down and no would see what he was really doing.

The sound of the holodeck doors brought him out of his revery. Wesley was more than a little surprised to see Lal coming up the hillside. He sat up and gave her an auspicious look as she sat down next to him and kissed his cheek.

“Hello, Wesley,” she said with a smile. “I have wonderful news.”

“Oh?” he asked with a chuckle.

“We have been released from our probation. My father and I discussed my transgressions and have concluded that I am a fully functional android and my newly formed sexual subroutines are firmly established.”

“What exactly does that mean?” he asked. He liked the sound of being off probation even if the bit about Lal having a discussion about her sexuality with her father seemed disconcerting.

“It means that we are allowed to be boyfriend and girlfriend without our parents policing our every move,” she told him. Then she encircled her arms around his neck. “It means that I am free to love you, we are free to love each other.”

It was the best news he could have hoped for. Wesley wrapped his arms around Lal as well and pulled her into a passionate kiss. When they parted they silently lay on their backs, held hands, and watched the sky. 

A bird started singing in a nearby tree. Lal hummed softly and squeezed her lover’s hand. As Wesley gazed over at her, he felt like the luckiest boy in the whole universe. He couldn’t ask for a more amazing, unique partner. He would just have to make sure that he was always worthy of her love.

“Maddox is going to be so disappointed,” said Wesley before breaking into a fit of laughter. 

“Do you think Annie will ever forgive me for stealing you from her?” Lal asked more seriously.

Wesley pulled himself together and gently touched her cheek. “Sure she will. She can have her pick of any guy on this ship, I’m sure,” he reassured her. This seemed to satisfy his girlfriend and she gave his hand another squeeze.

They continued to enjoy the program for some time before returning to the outside world. Here on the hill they could be happy and alone together. It wasn’t forever, but it was a good start.

......

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read this little story. Especially those who left kudos and comments:) I still don’t own any Star Trek properties. This story was a bit silly, but I had a good time writing it. 
> 
> Confession; I have another one written already that needs some fine tuning, but is just as long. It is much darker and involves everyone’s favourite evil android. So stay tuned if you’re interested. Or skip it if you prefer. Cheers!


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